Mental Health Clinician / Chaplain Collaboration
ConditionMoral Injury
Trial statusRecruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18-80
SponsorCentral Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
About this trial
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if the intervention can be delivered by VA chaplains and if it is acceptable for veterans who have symptoms of moral injury (guilt, shame, isolation) and are receiving VA mental health treatment. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Can the study team enroll veterans for this intervention and complete data collection? Will veterans complete the intervention?
There is no comparison group.
Participants will will complete a baseline and 6-month interview and participate in up to 12 intervention sessions with a VA chaplain. The intervention will focus on facilitating forgiveness and community connection.
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
age 18 to 80 years
plan to follow-up with a VA mental health clinician for PTSD or SUD treatment within the next three months (therefore allowing for collaboration)
positive screen using the 6-item Moral Injury Distress Scale (MIDS) screener. A positive MIDS screen will be defined as being bothered at least moderately by exposure to at least one potentially morally injurious event (witnessing, omission, commission).
Disqualifiers
diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, or severe neurocognitive disorder (e.g., dementia, severe TBI). Veterans with borderline personality disorder will be eligible for participation in this study following DBT completion.
Planning to start or current participation in a moral injury treatment group or evidence-based psychotherapy (e.g., Prolonged Exposure or Cognitive Processing Therapy).
Trial design
Design model
Single group
Treatments tested in this trial
facilitate forgiveness and community connection to address symptoms of moral injury
BehavioralVA chaplain delivered intervention to facilitate forgiveness and community connection in collaboration with mental health clinicians
Treatment groups
20 Participants
are divided into 1 treatment groupGroup A: Intervention focused on facilitating forgiveness and community connectionExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Number referred, enrolled, baseline and 6-month
referral, enrollment, and baseline and 6-month data collection
Time frame
6 months2
intervention retention
number of sessions completed
Time frame
6 monthsSecondary outcomes
1
moral injury distress
Moral Injury Distress Scale: 18 items, minimum score is 0, maximum score is 72, higher score means greater moral distress severity
Time frame
baseline and 6 months2
Religious and spiritual struggles
Religious and Spiritual Struggles Scale: 5-item Divine subscale, minimum score is 5, maximum score is 25, higher score means greater struggle with relationship with Divine and 4-item Ultimate Meaning subscale, minimum score is 0, maximum score is 20, higher score means greater struggle with meaning/purpose of life
Time frame
baseline and 6 months3
Forgiving others
Decision to Forgive Scale: 6 items, minimum score is 6, maximum score is 30, higher score means stronger decision to forgive
Time frame
baseline and 6-months4
Self forgiveness
Self Forgiveness Dual Process Scale: 10 items, minimum score is 10, maximum score is 50, higher score means greater self-forgiveness
Time frame
baseline and 6-monthsSponsors and contacts
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
Lead sponsor
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System
Collaborator
Source ClinicalTrials.gov