This document contains brief descriptions of many of the treatments found in the PTSD Repository, organized by treatment category.

Note: The download is a .zip file which contains the PDF Reference Guide.

Learn about treatments for those who have both PTSD and substance use disorder (SUD).

The purpose of this project was to identify and abstract data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) interventions to support the development of a publicly accessible data repository by the National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

The 2019 Report and Evidence Tables (Appendix E & F) are included in the downloadable .zip file. For more information, visit AHRQ's page, and look under "Previous Versions" tab: https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/ptsd-pharm-treatment/research

The Study Interventions dataset includes information about each of the specific treatment arms that were studied in all RCTs. Each study arm was coded to indicate the type of intervention or comparison condition. This dataset includes the study-level Study Class as well as individual variables for each category of treatment, coded as Yes or No for each arm. Study arm treatment category variables are as follows: Pharmacotherapy (as well as a subclass such as antidepressant, antianxiety, etc.); Psychotherapy (as well as a subclass to identify trauma-focused or non-trauma-focused therapy); Complementary and Integrative Health (CIH; as well as a subclass such as relaxation or meditation); Nonpharmacologic Biological; Nonpharmacologic Cognitive; Collaborative Care; Other Treatments; Control
The Study Intervention dataset also includes information on the format of the treatment (individual, group, couples, mixed); treatment delivery method (in person, by phone, by video, technology alone, technology assisted, written or mixed); dose or amount of treatment and, treatment completion and adherence. Use this dataset to learn about treatment studies of a particular type

Each record is an arm of the study, labeled as A, B, C, or D. Values abstracted as not applicable ("NA") or not reported ("NR") from the study are null values (empty cells).

The PTSD-Repository is a comprehensive database of PTSD trials. The PTSD-Repository allows clinical, research, education, and policy stakeholders to understand current research on treatment effectiveness and harms, and enable informed decisions about future research, mental health policy, and clinical care priorities. This report updates the studies and variables included in the PTSD-Repository to include recently published trials, interventions targeting comorbid PTSD/SUD (substance use disorder), variables related to comorbidities such as suicide and SUDs, and risk of bias (ROB) assessment.

The Comparative Effectiveness Review (Update Report) and Evidence Tables (Appendix E, F-1, & G-1) are included in the downloadable .zip file. For more information, visit AHRQ's page, and open the "Previous Versions" tab: https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/ptsd-pharm-non-pharm-treatment/research

The Other Outcomes dataset includes information on whether the trial includes measures of depression, anxiety, substance use, sleep, anger, quality of life and functioning. Results in this dataset are provided for each treatment arm. The name of the measure is included as well as the between-group effect sizes. Use this dataset to learn how about the effects of PTSD treatments on other outcomes.
Values abstracted as not applicable ("NA") or not reported ("NR") from the study are null values (empty cells).
Study level variables, like military status and percent female, are included for ease of filtering. These columns are not individual arm or arm comparison level data.

The Sample Characteristics dataset includes information on the participants who are included in the studies. This information is provided at the study level—meaning, data are not broken down into the specific treatment arms such as the intervention or control groups. Use this dataset if you want to learn more about the number of participants in the study; inclusion and exclusion criteria related to substance use and suicidality; baseline clinical characteristics such as PTSD severity, trauma type, military status, and comorbidities; and, basic demographic information such as age, gender or race for the sample as a whole (not individual participants). Visualizations made from this dataset will be based on the 496 RCTs included in the PTSD-Repository. Values reported as "NA" or not reported "NR" by the study are null values (empty cells). Data is at the study level.

Article from the Journal of Traumatic Stress (2020) by Maya E. O’Neil, Juliette M. Harik, Marian S. McDonagh, Tamara P. Cheney, Frances C. Hsu, David C. Cameron, Kathleen F. Carlson, Sonya B. Norman, and Jessica L. Hamblen.

Abstract: Given the extensive research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment, a single, updatable repository of data from PTSD treatment studies would be useful for clinical, research, and policy stakeholders. To meet this need, we established a preliminary dataset of abstracted PTSD trial data, which serve as the basis for the PTSD Trials Standardized Data Repository (PTSD-Repository), maintained by the National Center for PTSD (NCPTSD).We followed systematic review methods to identify published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of PTSD interventions. We consulted with a panel of experts to determine a priori inclusion criteria, ensure that we captured all relevant studies, and identify variables for abstraction. We searched multiple databases for materials published from 1980 to 2018 and reviewed reference lists of relevant systematic reviews and clinical practice guidelines. In total, 318 RCTs of PTSD interventions that enrolled almost 25,000 participants were included. We abstracted 337 variables across all studies, including study, participant, and intervention characteristics as well as results. In the present paper, we describe our methods and define data elements included in the data tables. We explain coding challenges, identify inconsistencies in reporting across study types, and discuss ways stakeholders can use PTSD-Repository data to enhance research, education, and policy. The abstracted data are currently publicly available on the NCPTSD website and can be used for future systematic reviews and identifying research gaps and as an information resource for clinicians, patients, and family members.

Citation: O'Neil, M. E., Harik, J. M., McDonagh, M. S., Cheney, T. P., Hsu, F. C., Cameron, D. C., Carlson, K. F., Norman, S. B., & Hamblen, J. L. (2020). Development of the PTSD-Repository: A publicly available repository of randomized controlled trials for posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 33, 410-419. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts22520

This table demonstrates how you might group together standardized treatments found in the PTSD Repository to progressively move toward less specificity in classification. The example provided includes psychotherapy categories and is not exhaustive to all treatments found in the PTSD Repository.

The Study Characteristics dataset includes basic information about study design. In addition to study class, the dataset includes clinical setting, whether the study looked at PTSD symptom clusters, whether there were any subgroup analyses, type of diagnostic measure used (e.g., diagnostic interview, self-report), and provider credentials. Use this dataset to better understand the variety of RCT designs employed, compare studies by study class or to identify gaps in the literature for potential new RCTs. Visualizations made from this dataset will be based on the 550 RCTs included in the PTSD-Repository. Values reported as "NA" or not reported "NR" by the study are null values (empty cells). Data is at the study level.