Service dogs may boost PTSD therapy for veterans
NCT ID NCT06723834
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study looks at whether having a psychiatric service dog makes prolonged exposure therapy work better for veterans with PTSD. About 216 veterans who already qualify for a service dog will be randomly assigned to get the dog right away or later. The goal is to see if the dog helps reduce PTSD symptoms and improve daily life.
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 216 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Sep 2025
- Expected to finish
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Sep 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: * Applied for and approved to receive a psychiatric service dog from a service dog organization participating in the study * Diagnosis of PTSD on the CAPS-5-R Exclusion Criteria: * Current service dog * Current participation in Prolonged Exposure Therapy
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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
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
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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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University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona, 85721, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a personalized mix of nerve stimulation and therapy rewire the brain for better mental health?
- Can a dog in the waiting room steady a child before a forensic interview?
- Can a therapist on a screen ease both trauma and pain?
- Can cramming PTSD therapy into a few weeks help veterans cut substance use?
- Can targeting guilt ease PTSD in veterans?
- Zapping the Brain's fear hub: a new hope for PTSD?