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Taking people in United StatesNo phase

Comparing TBT to Disorder-Specific Psychotherapy in Veterans With Social Anxiety Disorder

Key facts

Who runs it
VA Office of Research and Development
Where
Charleston, United StatesSee the site
Trial code
Status
Recruiting
People taking part
264 people, planned
Started
1 Apr 2024
Expected to end
31 Oct 2027
Type of study
Interventional, 2 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
Treatments tested
  • Transdiagnostic Behavior Therapy
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder
Record updated
10 February 2026

Who can take part

Age
18 years to 80 years
Sex
Women and men
Healthy volunteers
Cannot take part

The registry criteria, word for word

Show all 8 criteriaShow less

Who can take part

  • Participants must be Veterans and registered at Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Health Care System
  • Participants must be clearly competent to provide informed consent for research participation
  • Participants must meet DSM-5 criteria for social anxiety disorder
  • Participants must have clinically significant symptoms of comorbid posttraumatic stress

Who cannot take part

  • recent history (< 2 months) of psychiatric hospitalization or a suicide attempt as documented in their medical record,
  • acute, severe illness or medical condition that likely will interfere with study procedures as documented in their medical record
  • recent start of new psychiatric medication(s) (< 4 weeks),
  • primary diagnosis of a condition associated with psychotic symptoms, personality disorder, substance use disorder, or bipolar disorder

Check if you might fit

Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.

  • Are you between 18 and 80 years old?

Where in United States

  • Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center, Charleston, SCCharleston, United StatesContact: Daniel F Gros, PhD MA BSTaking people

About the trial

What the trial wants to find out

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a brief, efficient, and effective treatment for individuals with depressive/anxiety disorders. However, CBT is largely underutilized within the Department of Veterans Affairs due to the cost and burden of trainings necessary to deliver all of the related disorder-specific treatments (DSTs). Transdiagnostic Behavior Therapy (TBT), in contrast, is specifically designed to address numerous distinct disorders within a single protocol in Veterans with depressive/anxiety disorders. The proposed research seeks to evaluate the efficacy of TBT by assessing psychiatric symptomatology and related impairment outcomes in Veterans with social anxiety disorder and comorbid posttraumatic stress via a randomized controlled trial of TBT and an existing DST. Assessments will be completed at pre-, mid-, and post-treatment, and at 6-month follow-up. Process variables also will be investigated.

The 2 groups in the trial

  • Transdiagnostic Behavior TherapyTreatment being tested

    TBT was developed to address transdiagnostic avoidance via the use of four different types of exposure techniques (situational/in-vivo, physical/interoceptive, thought/imaginal, and \[positive\] emotional/behavioral activation). From the transdiagnostic avoidance perspective, the four exposure practices are matched to the type(s) of avoidance experienced by patients based upon their cluster of symptoms/disorders.

  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety DisorderExisting treatment, for comparison

    To provide an evidence-based comparison for the TBT condition, the research-supported psychological treatment of CBT for SAD will be used. CBT for SAD demonstrates efficacy in improving SAD symptoms and quality of life for patients with SAD, with durable improvements evidenced at follow-up assessments. CBT for SAD was used as a comparison to TBT in previous preliminary research. CBT for SAD involves several primary components, including: 1) psychoeducation, 2) training in cognitive restructuring, 3) exposures, 4) advanced cognitive restructuring, and 5) termination.

Questions to ask the study team

  1. How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
  2. Are travel costs paid?
  3. Can I keep my own doctor?
  4. What happens if I want to stop?

Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations

Print a page for my doctor

Data and sources

Registry record
Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
Official title
A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Transdiagnostic Behavior Therapy to Disorder-Specific Psychotherapy in the Recovery of Veterans With Social Anxiety Disorder and Comorbid PTSD Symptomatology
Fit questions
Built from NCT05858346, who can take part
Record updated
10 February 2026