Recruiting

Accelerated Resolution Therapy

Sponsor:

University of South Florida

Code:

NCT04121884

Conditions

Depressive Symptoms

Stress Disorder, Acute

Prolonged Grief Disorder

Alcohol Abuse

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Accelerated Resolution Therapy

Study Details

Brief summary:

In brief, ART is an innovative "mind-body" (body-centric) psychotherapy that makes use of established core components of trauma-focused therapy including imaginal exposure and imagery rescripting to promote memory reconsolidation, all facilitated as the patient is directed by the therapist to perform sets of lateral left-right eye movements similar to rapid eye movements (REM). The investigators propose to investigate how ART may directly influence heart rate variability (HRV), EEG power spectral densities, and sleep architecture in three aims. At the broadest level, the investigators postulate that both within individual ART sessions, and across the full course of treatment (e.g. up to 4 sessions), ART results in a profound shift from sympathetic (arousal) to parasympathetic (rest) nervous system balance, and that this shift can be reliably measured by neurophysiological assessment using electrocardiogram (ECG) and electroencephalogram (EEG) measurement.

Conditions

Depressive Symptoms

Stress Disorder, Acute

Prolonged Grief Disorder

Alcohol Abuse

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Study ID

NCT04121884

Start date

Nov 1, 2019

Status verified date

Nov, 2019

Completion date

Aug 31, 2020

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Apr 30, 2020

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Score of > 33 on the 20-item DSM-V PTSD Checklist (PCL-V) or
  • Depression: Score of > 16 on the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Depression Scale or
  • Acute stress disorder: Presence of criterions A-E on the 19-item Acute Stress Disorder Scale or
  • Complicated grief: Score of > 25 on the 19-item Inventory of Complicated Grief or
  • Alcohol abuse: Score of > 10 on 10-item Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) and
  • Corroboration of the above symptomatology through verification of the corresponding subscale of the 125-item Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire (PDSQ).

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Currently engaged in another psychotherapy regimen including currently engaged in ART or another eye movement therapy, such as EMDR;
  • Have a major psychiatric disorder (e.g. bipolar disorder) deemed likely to interfere with treatment delivery;
  • Currently in a formal substance dependence treatment program (alcohol and/or drug) anticipated to interfere with treatment delivery (e.g. through detox and symptoms of physiological withdrawal). All persons recruited for potential study participation will undergo a clinical intake assessment, with completion of ART intake form, by a licensed clinical therapist, to determine study eligibility.

Study Design

Enrollment

40 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: ART Treatment

A broad patient representation of male and female adults; aged > 18 years; English speaking; and significant clinical symptoms of any of the following conditions: PTSD, Depression, ASD, Complicated Grief, and Alcohol Abuse.

Interventions

Accelerated Resolution Therapy

The ART protocol first uses the technique of imaginal exposure to elicit physiological reactions associated with patient recall from beginning to end (verbally or non-verbally) of a traumatic/distressing experience. As physiological reactions emerge, the participant is directed to focus their attention on the specific body-centric reactions while laterally performing smooth pursuit eye movements which are achieved by tracking the clinician's hand which oscillates from left-to-right at a short distance from the participant's eyes. Then the participant is directed to imagine a positive way in which they prefer to recall their experience(s), including emphasis on "replacing" negative images in the brain with positive images. This technique is based on the process of memory reconsolidation, which allows for "adding" of positive material to the recall of negative, highly emotional past experiences.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) Imbalance [ Time Frame: Baseline pre first ART session at study day 1 and post 4th ART session at 5 weeks ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Paula L Cairns, PhD

8139749716paulacairns@usf.edu

Kevin E Kip, PhD

8139749266kkip@usf.edu

Locations

University of South Florida

Recruiting

Tampa, Florida, United States, 33612

Contacts

Paula L Cairns, PhD

727-543-8680paulacairns@usf.edu

Kevin E Kip, PhD

8139749266kkip@usf.edu

More Information

Sponsor

University of South Florida

Last update posted

Nov 4, 2019

Last verified

Nov, 2019

Keywords

  • Heart Rate Variability
  • Sleep
  • Electrocardiogram
  • Electroencephlogram
  • Alcohol Abuse
  • Prolonged Grief Disorder
  • Stress Disorder, Acute
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
  • Depressive Symptoms
  • Power Spectral Density

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of South Florida on 2019-11-04.