Can a partner's support ease PTSD and drinking? new VA study aims to find out.

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: Inclusion criteria for Veterans and Significant Others: * Any gender or sexual identity; any race or ethnicity * Married, cohabiting for at least 6 months, or in a committed relationship for at least 6 months and both partners are willing to participate. * The Veteran meets current or past-year DSM-5 diagnostic status for both PTSD (assessed via CAPS-5) and AUD (assessed via the Quick Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5) * Concurrent substance use disorders are acceptable provided that alcohol is the Veteran's primary substance of choice * Must demonstrate cognitive functioning sufficient to provide informed consent and participate accurately (=\>26 on the Mini-Mental State Exam \[MMSE\]) * Participants taking psychotropic medications will be required to be maintained on a stable dose for at least 4 weeks before study initiation * Not currently enrolled in couple therapy Additional inclusion criteria for the Veteran patient: * U.S. military Veteran * Enrolled, or is willing to become enrolled, in VA healthcare * Not attending trauma-focused therapy during the intervention period Exclusion Criteria: * History of moderate, severe, or unilateral violence in the relationship in the past year as measured by the CTS-2 * Either partner demonstrates a need for a higher level of care as assessed by the Quick Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders (QuickSCID) * i.e., history of or current psychotic or bipolar disorders, current severe drug use disorder, or concerns about alcohol withdrawal as demonstrated by a score \>8 on the CIWA-Ar) * Either partner reports current suicidal or homicidal ideation and intent or prior intent or attempt in the past 6 months as assessed by the CSSRS and PHQ-9 item 9 * The Veteran's SO cannot have substance use problems as indicated by a score \< 8 on the AUDIT and QuickSCID