Recruiting

Interpersonal Therapy vs. Exposure Therapy

Sponsor:

Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Code:

NCT03803332

Conditions

PTSD

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Exposure Therapy

Interpersonal Psychotherapy

Study Details

Brief summary:

The purpose of this study is to compare two kinds of therapy for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): exposure therapy (ET) and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). The results of this study will allow us to see if IPT and ET are equally effective in treating PTSD due to Military Sexual Trauma, with the long-term goal of making PTSD treatment effective for as many people as possible.

Conditions

PTSD

Study ID

NCT03803332

Start date

Mar 9, 2020

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

Sep, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Mar, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • English-speaking
  • Military Sexual Trauma (MST) survivors, with MST defined as actual or threatened sexual violence, from Vietnam era to current Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation New Dawn
  • Diagnosed with PTSD consequent to MST, with a minimum CAPS score > 40
  • Medically stable at time of study enrollment (for persons with chronic injuries and that any disability present does not prevent attendance of weekly outpatient therapy sessions)
  • Ability to provide informed consent and function at an intellectual level sufficient to allow accurate completion of all assessment instruments
  • Stable on psychotropic medication for the prior 60 days

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Lifetime or current diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder, bipolar disorder
  • Participation in a clinical trial or concurrent evidence-based treatment for MST-related psychiatric conditions or PTSD during the previous 3 months
  • Current evidence of significant unstable medical illness or organic brain impairment such that the patient could not attend sessions regularly or complete assessments
  • Patients who in the investigator's judgment pose a current homicidal or suicidal risk
  • Current or history of substance dependence in the past 90 days.

Study Design

Enrollment

208 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

active comparator: Exposure Therapy

Participants receive 10 90-minute exposure therapy sessions for PTSD following the treatment procedures as outlined in the standard Prolonged Exposure therapy manual.

active comparator: Interpersonal Psychotherapy

Participants receive 14 weekly 50-minute Interpersonal Psychotherapy sessions focused on the interpersonal sequelae of trauma in current daily life.

Interventions

Exposure Therapy

Psychotherapy including imaginal and in vivo exposure for PTSD.

Interpersonal Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy that focuses on the effects of PTSD on current interpersonal functioning.

Primary outcome measure

  • Difference in mean Clinician Administered PTSD Scale-5 (CAPS-5) score changes between the Exposure Therapy (ET) and Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) treatment groups from baseline to post-treatment [ Time Frame: Baseline, 15 weeks in the IPT condition, 11 weeks in the ET condition ]
  • Change in CAPS-5 scores from baseline to post-treatment for the ET treatment group [ Time Frame: Baseline, 11 weeks ]
  • Change in CAPS-5 scores from baseline to post-treatment for the IPT treatment group [ Time Frame: Baseline, 15 weeks ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Olivia Baryluk, BS

212-821-0783olb4002@med.cornell.edu

Locations

Weill Cornell Medicine

Recruiting

New York, New York, United States, 10065

Contacts

Olivia Baryluk, BS

212-821-0783olb4002@med.cornell.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Last update posted

Apr 16, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Keywords

  • PTSD
  • Military Sexual Trauma
  • exposure therapy
  • interpersonal psychotherapy
  • treatment

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Weill Medical College of Cornell University on 2026-04-16.