Transcendental Meditation and PTSD

This paper describes the rationale and design of a Phase 3 RCT comparing Transcendental Meditation to Present Centered Therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), suicidal ideation, alcohol use, and depressive symptoms in Veterans. In this multisite trial, 450 Veterans meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual-5 (DSM-5) criteria for PTSD will be recruited from nine VA and academic medical center sites across the U.S. Study outcomes include changes in PTSD diagnosis and symptom severity (primary), suicidal ideation, alcohol use, and depressive symptoms. Participation includes baseline testing and post-treatment assessments at 12, 24, and 36-weeks. During each assessment visit, Veterans will complete diagnostic interviews, including the Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 and the Alcohol Timeline Followback, as well as validated self-report measures. Cost-effectiveness of the treatments will be measured using intervention and healthcare costs, the proportion with PTSD diagnosis removed, and Quality-Adjusted Life Years. Finally, single-site substudies will examine pre-to-post-treatment changes in PTSD biomarkers and on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).