Screening & TReatment fOr Perinatal WomeN With PTSD in Substance Use Care SettinGs in Arkansas (STRONG Moms)

NCT07759882 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 300210
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 80
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this study is to examine the feasibility and acceptability of providing Written Exposure Therapy (WET), a brief, evidence-based therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) via tele-health to pregnant and postpartum individuals receiving services for problematic substance misuse in Arkansas.

Conditions

Written Exposure Therapy

Keywords

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder; Trauma Focused Therapy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Acceptability

  Acceptability will be evaluated using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8), an 8-item participant-reported satisfaction measure rated on a 4-point Likert scale. Total scores ranging from 8-32, with higher scores indicating greater satisfaction with the therapy.

  From baseline to end of treatment at 5 weeks

• Acceptability

  Acceptability will also be evaluated using the Acceptability of Intervention (AIM), which is a 4-item self-reported questionnaire on a 5-point Likert scale assessing acceptability of the intervention. Scores are summed and higher scores indicate greater acceptability.

  From baseline to end of treatment at 5 weeks

• Feasibility of Recruitment

  Feasibility of recruitment will be assessed by the number of individuals who initiated WET versus the total number of individuals enrolled in the study.

  From enrollment to end of treatment at 5 weeks

• Therapy Adherence

  Therapy adherence will be assessed by WET session attendance and completion. We will measure therapy adherence by the number of individuals who complete ≥ 4 sessions versus the total number of individuals who received ≤ 3 sessions.

  From enrollment to end of treatment at 5 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• PTSD Symptoms

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 5 weeks

• Depression Symptoms

  From enrollment to end of treatment at 5 weeks

• Pre/Postnatal Depression Symptoms

  From enrollment to the end of treatment at 5 weeks

• Substance Use Severity

  From enrollment to end of treatment at 5 weeks

Study Arms (1)

Single Arm Intervention

EXPERIMENTAL

All participants will receive Written Exposure Therapy (WET)

Behavioral: Written Exposure Therapy (WET)

Interventions

Written Exposure Therapy (WET) BEHAVIORAL

Written Exposure Therapy (WET) is a brief, evidence-based therapy for PTSD. Clients receive 5 weekly sessions where they write about a traumatic experience in a safe, structured way for approximately 50 minutes followed by a brief check-in with their therapist. This process helps individuals make sense of the event, reduce emotional distress, and decrease PTSD symptoms over time.

Single Arm Intervention

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Able to write, understand, and speak English
• Able to give informed consent
• Currently pregnant or postpartum (≤ 6 months after childbirth)
• History of substance misuse
• Receiving services for substance-use related problems
• Have a history of traumatic event exposure
• Endorse clinically significant PTSD symptoms (score ≥ 3 on the Primary Care PTSD Screen for DSM-5; PC-PTSD-5)

You may not qualify if:

• Unwilling to provide consent
• No history of Criterion A trauma exposure or clinically significant PTSD symptoms
• No history of substance misuse or currently receiving services for a substance-use related problem

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Arkansas: lead

Study Sites (1)

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Little Rock, Arkansas, 72205, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Mollee K Steely Smith, PhD

  University of Arkansas

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Mollee K. Steely Smith K Assistant Professor, PhD

CONTACT

501-526-8174; mksteelysmith@uams.edu

Chelsey E Bull, PhD

CONTACT

cebull@uams.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 3, 2026
• First Posted: August 12, 2026
• Study Start (Estimated): August 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 30, 2027
• Last Updated: August 14, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-08

Locations

US (1)