Clinical Trial

Three-Arm Quasi-Experimental Study of App-Assisted Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms

Completed
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Summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the efficacy of three Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) delivery modalities in treating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in adult patients (ages 20-40) with mild to moderate PTSD severity in Pakistan. The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Do participants show significant reductions in psychological inflexibility, emotional dysregulation, and PTSD symptom severity from pre- to post-intervention? 2. Which ACT delivery modality - treatment as usual (TAU/clinic-only), clinician-guided with web-app assistance, or online-only with web-app assistance - produces the greatest improvements in these outcomes? Researchers will compare three groups: (A) TAU receiving clinic-based ACT sessions without app support, (B) clinic-based ACT sessions assisted by the "ACT PTSD" web application, and (C) fully online ACT delivery with web-app support - to determine whether digital augmentation enhances treatment outcomes beyond standard clinical delivery. Participants will: * Complete baseline assessments (PCL-5, AAQ-II, DERS-SF, PDEQ-SF) at intake * Attend 12 weekly individual ACT sessions (30-45 minutes each) covering psychoeducation, acceptance, cognitive defusion, self-as-context, grounding, values clarification, committed action, trauma processing, and relapse prevention * Use the "ACT PTSD" web application between sessions (Groups B and C), which delivers the six ACT core processes through guided exercises, audio tracks, symptom tracking, and therapist messaging * Complete post-intervention assessments and one follow-up session after the 12-week program
Trial Details
NCT Number NCT07624708
Lead Sponsor University of Central Punjab
Conditions Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Enrollment 30 participants
Start Date 2025-09-04
Primary Completion 2026-04-30 (estimated)
Study Completion 2026-05-10 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov 2026-06-03