Reclaiming Your Life After Sexual Trauma
Mental contamination-an internal experience of dirtiness evoked in the absence of physical contact with an external source-has been linked to the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following exposure to sexual abuse or assault (Adams et al., 2014; Badour et al., 2013; Brake et al., 2017). Mental contamination has been associated with greater PTSD severity (Rachman et al., 2015) and higher elevations in specific PTSD symptom clusters (particularly those of intrusive re-experiencing, negative cognitions/mood, and arousal/reactivity; Brake et al., 2019; Fergus \& Bardeen, 2016). Additionally, trauma-related mental contamination has been linked to a number of negative posttraumatic emotions such as shame, guilt, disgust, and anger (Fairbrother \& Rachman, 2004; Radomsky \& Elliott, 2009). Despite clear and consistent links between mental contamination and problematic posttraumatic outcomes following sexual trauma, there is a dearth of research investigating how existing or promising new interventions for PTSD impact mental contamination.
Written Exposure Therapy (WET) is a five-session treatment for PTSD that was designed to be both brief and easy to administer (Sloan et al., 2012). According to Sloan and colleagues' (2012) protocol, sessions broadly involve 30-minute exposures in which the patient writes about the events of their trauma in detail, followed by 10 minutes of discussing the exposure with the therapist. This treatment protocol has minimal therapist involvement, no homework assignments, and shorter treatment sessions. Research shows that WET is efficacious among different samples (e.g., survivors of motor vehicle accidents and combat veterans), has low dropout rates, treatment satisfaction is high, and the gains seen by participants after completion are maintained at follow-up (Sloan et al., 2012, 2013, 2018; Thompson-Hollands et al., 2018, 2019). Given these factors, WET has the potential to be a useful intervention in reducing symptoms of PTSD among a sample of survivors of sexual trauma. Given its relevance to this trauma population, a test of this intervention for its impact on reducing trauma-related mental contamination is also needed.
The current study will use Single Case Experimental Design to isolate and evaluate the effects of WET in reducing both PTSD symptoms and trauma-related mental contamination among individuals with PTSD resulting from sexual trauma.
Aims: Explore whether participants demonstrate reductions in mental contamination and PTSD symptoms in response to 5 sessions of WET. Visual inspection analysis and statistical methods will be used to draw conclusions regarding the effects of the interventions on PTSD symptoms and mental contamination.
Conditions:
🦠 Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
🦠 Sexual Assault and Rape
🗓️ Study Start (Actual)
31 March 2022
🗓️ Primary Completion (Estimated)
31 May 2025
✅ Study Completion (Estimated)
31 May 2025
👥 Enrollment (Estimated)
20
🔬 Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
📊 Phase
NA
Locations:
📍
Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- * individuals with a history of sexual trauma meeting past-month diagnostic criteria for PTSD (meeting diagnostic status on the DIAMOND and score greater than or equal to 33 on the PCL-5)
- * individuals reporting current experiences of trauma-related mental contamination (greater than or equal to 30 on the PEMC and endorsement of current mental contamination at the time of the intake assessment)
- * 18 years of age or older
- * fluent in English (including being able to read and write in English)
- * patients on psychotropic medications will be included if they have been maintained on a stable dose for at least 4 weeks prior to beginning the study and are willing to maintain a stable dosage throughout the study period; this procedure allows for a broader range of participants and avoids having outcomes assessment confounded by the initiation of medication during treatment
- * patients must be willing to refrain from additional trauma-related treatment for the duration of the study.
Exclusion Criteria:
- * We will exclude individuals diagnosed with psychological conditions that may be better addressed by alternative treatments; these conditions may include:
- * any history of psychotic disorders or dissociative identity disorder
- * manic episodes endorsed in the past year
- * current anorexia nervosa
- * imminent risk of suicide (i.e., intent/plan)
- * severe substance use disorders.
- * We will also exclude individuals who endorse factors for which the treatment being studied (WET) may be contraindicated. These factors may include having no or limited memory of the trauma that would prevent the individual from engaging in written exposures.
Ages Eligible for Study:
18 Years to 100 Years (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
Sexes Eligible for Study: ALL
Accepts Healthy Volunteers:
No
These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported
results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before
being posted on the public website.
Study Registration Dates
- First Submitted
22 February 2022
- First Submitted that Met QC Criteria
2 March 2022
- First Posted
7 March 2022
Study Record Updates
- Last Update Submitted that Met QC Criteria
7 June 2024
- Last Update Posted
11 June 2024
- Last Verified
June 2024