Second chance at healing: new study targets PTSD treatment failures
NCT ID NCT06733376
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at what to do when the first PTSD therapy doesn't work. Researchers will test different proven therapies on 400 adults who didn't respond to initial treatment. The goal is to find out which second treatment works best and create a tool to identify early who might need a different approach.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 400 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2030
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Are 18 years or older * Are fluent in English * Have experienced a Criterion A traumatic event during their lifetime * Have a PTSD diagnosis verified via the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 * Are interested in receiving evidence-based treatment for PTSD and able to attend 10 therapy sessions over the course of 2 weeks (10 days) and could possibly attend another 10 sessions of a subsequent treatment (additional CPT sessions, PE, or STAIR) * Are willing and able to complete self-report measures and clinician-rated assessments at multiple timepoints over the course of the study Exclusion Criteria: * The index traumatic event occurred in the past month * They are currently suicidal or homicidal (i.e., current plan and imminent intent) * They have unmanaged psychosis or mania * They have not been on a stable dose of psychotropic medication for at least one month at the time of the baseline assessment * They have completed an evidence-based cognitive behavioral PTSD treatment in the past three months or are currently engaged in an evidence-based PTSD treatment (CPT, PE) * They have an intellectual disability or significant cognitive impairment that would prevent them from engaging in treatment * They have a serious or unstable medical illness or instability for which hospitalization may be likely within the next year * They have an active substance use disorder (within the past three months) that would require immediate medical observation if substance was abruptly discontinued * They are involved with current legal actions related to their index trauma * They have a visual or auditory impairment that would prevent them from fully participating in study activities * They, at the time of consent, appear to have extenuating life circumstances (i.e., unstable housing, no internet access, etc.) which, in the judgement of the study team, could affect the ability to deliver interventions with fidelity
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Rush University Medical Center
RECRUITINGChicago, Illinois, 60612, United States
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