Brain training for first responders: can a 5-Session class boost PTSD resilience?
NCT ID NCT03998501
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looked at whether a 5-session class teaching cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills can increase a brain pattern linked to resilience against PTSD. It involved 30 public safety personnel (like police or firefighters) who were already in a larger study. Researchers used brain scans and questionnaires to measure changes. The goal was to understand how the brain might be trained to resist PTSD, not to test a treatment.
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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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30 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Sep 2019
- Finished
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Mar 2025
- 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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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: * Must be enrolled in our on-going parallel study - "Cognitive Behaviour Therapy with Mindfulness Course for Building Workplace Resilience: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial" Exclusion Criteria: * if they have received psychological or medication treatment for a mental disorder in the past 6 months or if they score above the clinical cutoff on the following self-report symptom measures: Posttraumatic Checklist-5 (PCL-5) score \>37; Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score (depression) \>10, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) score \>7, and the presence of suicidal ideation in the past six months. Individuals falling below these cutoff scores will receive further diagnostic assessment by a supervised PhD graduate student in Clinical Psychology. Those meeting criteria for PTSD or other mental disorder in the past 12 months as assessed by the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) or the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI v.7.0.2) will also be excluded. Finally, we will exclude individuals with any contraindication to MRI (e.g., claustrophobia and metal implants).
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3E 0J9, Canada
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Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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