Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression (MERA)

Part of paid clinical trials in Tampa, Florida.

Sponsor
VA Office of Research and Development
Study ID
NCT04793776
Status
Recruiting
Apply to this trial

Conditions

  • Aggression
  • Emotion Regulation
  • Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
18 Years - 64 Years
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression — BEHAVIORAL
    MERA begins with education about the adaptive nature of emotions, how childhood and military experiences can influence emotion regulation, and how combat requires different emotion regulation strategies than most civilian environments. MERA use modeling and practice with feedback to teach cognitive-behavioral and acceptance-based emotion regulation skills.
  • Present Centered Psychotherapy — BEHAVIORAL
    PCT will serve as the comparison group. PCT assists Veterans in understanding and coping with current difficulties, such as aggression, but does not provide systematic training in emotion regulation skills.

Study Details

PTSD is one of the most prevalent mental health conditions affecting Veterans who have served since 9/11. Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) report difficulty controlling impulsive aggression (IA). An inability to manage one's emotions (emotion dysregulation) is an underlying mechanism of IA. Reducing IA and increasing use of PTSD evidence-based psychotherapies are two critical missions for the Veterans Health Administration. The proposed research supports these missions by comparing a 3- session emotion regulation treatment (Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression) to a control group in order to determine if MERA can reduce IA and prepare Veterans for PTSD treatment. By enhancing Veterans' abilities to cope with trauma-related emotions and feel equipped to initiate PTSD treatments, this research aims to help Veterans decrease IA and ultimately recover from PTSD.

Key Dates

Start date
Jan 3, 2022
Status verified
Jun 2026
Primary completion
Oct 1, 2026
Completion
Dec 30, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment
204 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT

Arms

  • Experimental: Manage Emotions to Reduce Aggression (MERA)
    MERA is 3 individual 90-minute sessions delivered over 3 weeks.
  • Active Comparator: Present Centered Psychotherapy (PCT)
    PCT delivered in 3 individual 90-minute sessions over 3 weeks.

Primary Outcome Measure

Change in Overt Aggression Scale (OAS) [ Time Frame: Treatment group differences in change from Session 1 to posttreatment assessment (duration of 11 weeks). ]

Central Contacts

Locations (2)

FacilityCityStateZIPSite coordinators
James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, Tampa, FLTampaFlorida33612
Margaret R Covar
[email protected]
(813) 903-4407
Nicole Cadorette
[email protected]
(813) 558-3953
Shannon R. Miles, PhD (PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR)
Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TXHoustonTexas77030
Karin Thompson, PhD
[email protected]
713-791-1414

Find similar trials in Tampa, FL

By research site
James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital, Tampa, FL· Tampa, FLMichael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX· Houston, TX

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