Treatment for Antepartum Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Study

This study is looking at two types of therapy for pregnant women with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). It's testing Written Exposure Therapy (WET), which involves writing about traumatic experiences, and Emotion Focused Supportive Therapy (EFST), where you discuss problems and emotions with a therapist. The goal is to see if these therapies can help reduce PTSD symptoms during pregnancy and after birth. You might be able to join if you are a pregnant woman between 18 and 50 years old, receiving prenatal care at BMC Obstetrics and Gynecology, are less than 28 weeks pregnant, and have PTSD symptoms. The study will measure how well these treatments work by checking your PTSD symptoms at the start, after 8 weeks, and one month after giving birth. The current recruitment status is unclear.

Study design
This is an interventional study planning to enroll 240 participants. It is a randomized controlled trial, meaning participants will be assigned by chance to one of the two therapy groups.
What's involved
You would participate in 5 individual therapy sessions. Your PTSD symptoms will be measured at the beginning of the study, after 8 weeks, and one month after you give birth.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
Participants will be followed for one month after giving birth to assess PTSD symptoms.

AI-generated from the public study record. Only the study team can confirm whether you're eligible — confirm details with them before making decisions.

NCT05486793

Treatment for Antepartum Posttraumatic Stress Disorder/PTSD Study

Recruiting
NAAges 18–50InterventionalTreatment
Boston University
~240 participants
Updated 2026-05-28 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Written Exposure Therapy (WET)Emotion Focused Supportive Therapy (EFST)

At a glance

Recruiting sites
1 of 1 listed site is recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Clinician Administered Scale for PTSD-5 (CAPS-5) at baseline
Measured over baseline
+4 more outcomes measured
PTSD
1 sites across 1 states
Massachusetts1
  • Yael I Nillni, PhD · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · BUSM Department of Psychiatry and VA Boston Healthcare System

Opens a ready-to-send draft in your own email app — review before sending.

Do you actually qualify for this trial?

Add a private profile and we'll compare every criterion below against your situation — and tell you which ones are met, uncertain, or excluding.

Check eligibility for this trial ~2 min · HIPAA-protected · delete anytime
Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Pregnant woman receiving prenatal care at BMC Obstetrics and Gynecology (OB/GYN) Department
Presenting for prenatal care prior to gestational age of 28 weeks
Meet diagnostic or subthreshold criteria (i.e., endorsement of 3 out of the 4 symptom clusters) for PTSD on the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5)

Exclusion

Clinician judgment that the patient is not appropriate for outpatient level care (i.e., patient needs detox, inpatient, or residential treatment)
Current psychosis or unstable bipolar disorder diagnosis (determined via clinician-administered interview)
Currently receiving exposure-based PTSD treatment (e.g., WET, prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy) elsewhere
Current incarceration. Incarcerated individuals are only seen at BMC for obstetrical care and are not allowed to receive mental health care outside of their correctional facility
  • Clinician Administered Scale for PTSD-5 (CAPS-5) at baselinebaseline

    PTSD symptom severity will be assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5 CAPS-5), a structured diagnostic interview that obtains information about symptom frequency/intensity for all 20 PTSD symptoms using a 5-point scale to obtain a total PTSD severity score. The scale also assesses social and occupational functioning and dissociation symptoms. Scores range from 0-80, with higher scores indicating greater severity.

  • Clinician Administered Scale for PTSD-5 (CAPS-5) at 8 weeks8 weeks

    PTSD symptom severity will be assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), a structured diagnostic interview that obtains information about symptom frequency/intensity for all 20 PTSD symptoms using a 5-point scale to obtain a total PTSD severity score. The scale also assesses social and occupational functioning and dissociation symptoms. Scores range from 0-80, with higher scores indicating greater severity.

  • Clinician Administered Scale for PTSD-5 (CAPS-5) at 1 month postpartum1 month postpartum

    PTSD symptom severity will be assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), a structured diagnostic interview that obtains information about symptom frequency/intensity for all 20 PTSD symptoms using a 5-point scale to obtain a total PTSD severity score. The scale also assesses social and occupational functioning and dissociation symptoms. Scores range from 0-80, with higher scores indicating greater severity.

  • Clinician Administered Scale for PTSD-5 (CAPS-5) at 6 months postpartum6 months postpartum

    PTSD symptom severity will be assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), a structured diagnostic interview that obtains information about symptom frequency/intensity for all 20 PTSD symptoms using a 5-point scale to obtain a total PTSD severity score. The scale also assesses social and occupational functioning and dissociation symptoms. Scores range from 0-80, with higher scores indicating greater severity.

  • Clinician Administered Scale for PTSD-5 (CAPS-5) at 12 months postpartum12 months postpartum

    PTSD symptom severity will be assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5), a structured diagnostic interview that obtains information about symptom frequency/intensity for all 20 PTSD symptoms using a 5-point scale to obtain a total PTSD severity score. The scale also assesses social and occupational functioning and dissociation symptoms. Scores range from 0-80, with higher scores indicating greater severity.