Recruiting

AMBET vs. PCT

Sponsor:

Columbia University

Code:

NCT07410481

Conditions

PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Cardiac Arrest (CA)

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Acceptance and Mindfulness Based Exposure Therapy

Present-Centered Therapy

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a new therapy called Acceptance- and Mindfulness-Based Exposure Therapy (AMBET) helps treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in people who survived a cardiac arrest. This study will compare AMBET to another psychotherapy treatment called Present Centered Therapy (PCT) to see which therapy is more effective in treating PTSD.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does AMBET reduce PTSD symptoms in survivors of cardiac arrest? How do the benefits of AMBET compare to PCT?

Participants will:

  • Be randomly assigned to receive either AMBET or PCT
  • Attend 12 hours of individual psychotherapy sessions over about 12 weeks
  • Complete short weekly surveys about their mood and behaviors online
  • Wear a Fitbit device to track sleep and activity during the study
  • Do brief homework assignments between sessions

Conditions

PTSD - Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Cardiac Arrest (CA)

Study ID

NCT07410481

Start date

Mar 31, 2026

Status verified date

Apr, 2026

Completion date

Mar 31, 2029

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun 30, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 70+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Between 18 and 81 years old at the time of consent
2. Fluency in English
3. Medical history of cardiac arrest >3 months ago
4. Clinically elevated PTSD symptoms (Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) score ≥25)
5. U.S. Resident

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Lifetime history of primary psychotic or bipolar disorders
2. Current substance use disorder (moderate or severe in the past 6 months)
3. Active suicidal ideation with some intent to act in past 12 months, and/or suicide attempt in past 24 months
4. Substantial cognitive impairment (Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) score <25)
5. Initiation of new psychotropic medication <3 months ago
6. Non-cardiac etiology of CA (drowning, bleeding, trauma, drug overdose, etc)
7. Terminal illness with life expectancy <1 year
8. Concurrent psychotherapy for PTSD

Study Design

Enrollment

90 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Acceptance- and mindfulness-based exposure therapy (AMBET)

Remotely delivered psychotherapy combining exposure therapy with mindfulness.

active comparator: Present-Centered Therapy (PCT)

Remotely delivered psychotherapy that focuses on increasing adaptive responses to current life stressors and difficulties.

Interventions

Acceptance and Mindfulness Based Exposure Therapy

Eight sessions of exposure therapy combined with mindfulness delivered via videoconferencing platform. AMBET will consist of 90-minute weekly sessions for 4 weeks, then every other week for 4 more sessions.

Present-Centered Therapy

Twelve 60-minute weekly sessions of psychotherapy delivered via videoconferencing platform.

Primary outcome measure

  • Change in PTSD symptoms over time [ Time Frame: Baseline, At 6 weeks, Post-treatment: Approximately 3 months and 6 months from intake ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Yuval Neria, Ph.D.

212-543-6061ny126@cumc.columbia.edu

Maja Bergman, Ph.D.

212-543-6061mb3829@cumc.columbia.edu

Locations

Columbia University Irving Medical Center

Recruiting

New York, New York, United States, 10032

Contacts

Maja Bergman, Ph.D.

mb3829@cumc.columbia.edu

Principal Investigator:

Yuval Neria

More Information

Sponsor

Columbia University

Last update posted

Apr 9, 2026

Last verified

Apr, 2026

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Columbia University on 2026-04-09.