Findings from a pilot study of Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga versus cognitive processing therapy for PTSD related to military sexual trauma among women Veterans

Belle Zaccari; Athena D F Sherman; Sarah Febres-Cordero; Melinda Higgins; Ursula Kelly

doi:10.1016/j.ctim.2022.102850

Findings from a pilot study of Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga versus cognitive processing therapy for PTSD related to military sexual trauma among women Veterans

Complement Ther Med. 2022 Nov:70:102850. doi: 10.1016/j.ctim.2022.102850. Epub 2022 Jul 9.

Authors

Belle Zaccari¹, Athena D F Sherman², Sarah Febres-Cordero³, Melinda Higgins⁴, Ursula Kelly⁵

Affiliations

¹ Veterans Affairs Portland Health Care System, 3710 SW US Veterans Hospital Rd, Portland, OR 97239, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97239, USA. Electronic address: belle.zaccari@va.gov.
² Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, 1520 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: adfsherman@emory.edu.
³ Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, 1520 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: sfebre2@emory.edu.
⁴ Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, 1520 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, USA. Electronic address: mkhiggi@emory.edu.
⁵ Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, 1520 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta VA Health Care System, Decatur, GA, USA. Electronic address: ukelly@emory.edu.

Abstract

Objective: The study objective was to explore the preliminary efficacy of trauma-sensitive yoga compared to cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for women Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to military sexual trauma (MST) in a pilot randomized control trial (RCT). We then compared these results to published interim results for the subsequent full-scale RCT.

Method: The analytic sample included women Veterans (N = 41) with PTSD related to MST accessing healthcare in a southeastern Veterans Affairs Health Care System. The majority were African American, non-Hispanic (80.5 %). The protocol-driven group interventions, Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY; n = 17) and the evidence-based control condition, CPT (n = 24), were delivered weekly for 10 and 12 sessions, respectively. Multilevel linear models (MLM) were used to compare changes over time between the two groups.

Results: The primary outcomes presented here are PTSD symptom severity and diagnosis, assessed using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and the PTSD Symptom Checklist (PCL) total scores. PTSD symptom severity on both clinician-administered (CAPS) and self-reported (PCL) measures, improved significantly (p < .005) over time, with large within group effect sizes (0.90-0.99) consistent with the subsequent RCT. Participants in the TCTSY group showed clinically meaningful improvements earlier than the CPT group participants from baseline on the CAPS and PCL Total scores.

Conclusions: Results support published findings of the effectiveness of TCTSY in the treatment for PTSD related to MST among women Veterans, particularly African American women. TCTSY warrants consideration as an adjunctive, precursor, or concurrent treatment to evidence-based psychotherapies. Future research should include patient preference, men with sexual trauma, and civilian populations.

Keywords: African American; Military sexual trauma; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Trauma-sensitive yoga; Veterans; Women; Yoga.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy*
Female
Humans
Male
Pilot Projects
Sexual Trauma
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*
Trauma Centers
Treatment Outcome
Veterans*
Yoga*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding