Findings from a pilot study of Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga versus cognitive processing therapy for PTSD related to military sexual trauma among women Veterans

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Belle Zaccari, Oregon Health and Science University; Athena DF Sherman, Emory University; Sarah Febres-Cordero, Emory University; Melinda K Higgins, Emory University; Ursula A Kelly, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-07-09
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: Published by Elsevier Ltd.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctim.2022.102850
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Complementary Therapies in Medicine
• Volume: 70
• Start Page: 102850
• Grant/Funding Information: This material is based upon work supported by the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Services Research and Development Service, Grant # 1I01HX001087-01A1 (PI: Ursula Kelly). Preparation of this manuscript was supported by Grant no. K12 HS026370 from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (BZ).
• Keywords: African American; Trauma-sensitive yoga; yoga; Women; Military sexual trauma; Posttraumatic stress disorder; Veterans
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Rehabilitation and Therapy

Abstract

Objective: The study objective was to explore the preliminary efficacy of trauma-sensitive yoga compared to cognitive processing therapy (CPT) for women Veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to military sexual trauma (MST) in a pilot randomized control trial (RCT). We then compared these results to published interim results for the subsequent full-scale RCT. Method: The analytic sample included women Veterans (N = 41) with PTSD related to MST accessing healthcare in a southeastern Veterans Affairs Health Care System. The majority were African American, non-Hispanic (80.5 %). The protocol-driven group interventions, Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY; n = 17) and the evidence-based control condition, CPT (n = 24), were delivered weekly for 10 and 12 sessions, respectively. Multilevel linear models (MLM) were used to compare changes over time between the two groups. Results: The primary outcomes presented here are PTSD symptom severity and diagnosis, assessed using the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and the PTSD Symptom Checklist (PCL) total scores. PTSD symptom severity on both clinician-administered (CAPS) and self-reported (PCL) measures, improved significantly (p < .005) over time, with large within group effect sizes (0.90–0.99) consistent with the subsequent RCT. Participants in the TCTSY group showed clinically meaningful improvements earlier than the CPT group participants from baseline on the CAPS and PCL Total scores. Conclusions: Results support published findings of the effectiveness of TCTSY in the treatment for PTSD related to MST among women Veterans, particularly African American women. TCTSY warrants consideration as an adjunctive, precursor, or concurrent treatment to evidence-based psychotherapies. Future research should include patient preference, men with sexual trauma, and civilian populations.