Five-session written therapy for veterans with PTSD and substance use problems
Official title: Written Exposure Therapy (WET) as a brief trauma treatment for Veterans with Co-occurring Substance Use Disorders and PTSD
Funded at VA Connecticut Healthcare System · NIH-11132607 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses a five-session written exposure therapy to help veterans with PTSD and substance use disorders reduce trauma symptoms and stay engaged in addiction care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | VA Connecticut Healthcare System NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (West Haven, United States) |
| Project start | July 1, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| NIH project number | 5I01CX002271-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11132607 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are veterans receiving care for substance use disorders who also have PTSD and can attend outpatient sessions at the VA clinic.
✕Less likely to help
This treatment may not suit people without PTSD, those currently in inpatient detox or residential programs, or those with uncontrolled psychosis or immediate safety risks.
What this research studies
If you're a veteran getting treatment for substance use and have PTSD, this program offers a short, clinic-based written exposure therapy delivered in five sessions. You would complete structured writing about traumatic events in sessions led by clinic staff who receive brief training to deliver the method. The approach is designed to fit into busy outpatient SUD clinics with lower dropout and high patient satisfaction reported in other settings. The team is testing whether this brief, low-resource therapy can lower PTSD symptoms and improve engagement in addiction treatment for veterans.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could reduce PTSD symptoms and improve retention and outcomes in addiction treatment using a short, low-training therapy.
How similar studies have gone: WET has been shown in prior trials to effectively reduce PTSD symptoms, including a feasibility study in women in residential SUD treatment, and this work extends that approach to veterans in outpatient care.
Where this research is happening
-
VA Connecticut Healthcare System
West Haven, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Meshberg-Cohen, Sarah — VA Connecticut Healthcare System
- Study coordinator: Meshberg-Cohen, Sarah
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Written Exposure Therapy for Veterans with PTSD and Substance Use Disorder (brief trauma treatment)
A brief trauma-focused therapy called Written Exposure Therapy is being studied to help veterans who have both PTSD and substance use disorders.
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Web-based training to treat PTSD and substance use together in Veterans
A web-based training resource helps VA clinicians learn how to provide integrated treatment for Veterans with both PTSD and substance use disorders.
-
Genetics of PTSD and Substance Use in Diverse Populations
This grant investigates how genes influence PTSD and substance use disorders in diverse groups to improve prevention and treatment.
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Using Written Exposure Therapy to help Veterans with PTSD and Substance Use Disorders
This study is looking at how helpful Written Exposure Therapy can be for Veterans dealing with both PTSD and substance use issues, especially for those in rural areas who might not have easy access to care, to see if it can make their treatment better and improve their quality of life.
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Online training for clinicians to deliver COPE, a combined PTSD and substance-use therapy
This project offers web training to teach VA clinicians how to deliver COPE, a combined Prolonged Exposure therapy for Veterans with PTSD and substance use problems.
-
Genes linking PTSD and substance use problems in diverse communities
Researchers are looking at how genetic factors connect PTSD with alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, and opioid problems in people from diverse ancestry groups.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.