Testing Brief Videos Delivered by Text Message for post-traumatic stress disorder in adolescence
Official title: Brief Videos Delivered by Text Messages as a Public Health Intervention for PTSD in Youth
Brief Videos Delivered by Text Messages as a Public Health Intervention for PTSD in Youth: A Feasibility and Acceptability Randomized Trial
Interventions
Brief Videos Delivered by Text Message
The intervention consists of brief videos delivered by text message, designed to deliver psychoeducation, coping strategies, and social support guidance for youth with PTSD. The focus is to reduce avoidance behaviors, increase exposure, change cognitions and enhance social support. The text messages will follow a six-module curriculum, covering key PTSD recovery topics: 1. Psychoeducation on PTSD - Understanding symptoms, trauma responses, and brain plasticity. 2. Reducing Avoidance - Encouraging gradual engagement with feared thoughts and situations. 3. Cognitive Coping Strategies - Introducing cognitive restructuring techniques. 4. Behavioral Coping Strategies - Teaching relaxation techniques (e.g., deep breathing, grounding). 5. Social Support - Highlighting the role of social support and strategies to strengthen connections. 6. Maintenance and Relapse Prevention - Preparing for setbacks and reinforcing progress.
Canadian Sites (1)
IWK Health
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Eligibility Criteria
See who this study is looking for8 criteria
The trial’s own eligibility text, word for word from the registry. Only the trial site can say who takes part.
Inclusion
- +Between 15 and 25 years old at time of enrolmentEnrolmentThe number of participants a study plans to include, or has included.Read more →
- +Likely diagnosis of PTSD as indicated by a minimum score of 31 on the Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist
- +Direct exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence or through witnessing, learning it happened to a close relation as assessed by the Life Events Checklist
- +Access to a mobile phone and a data plan that allows them to receive text messages and videos
- +Live in Canada
Exclusion
- −Presence of active suicidality, determined by items from the Patient Safety Screener
- −Active symptoms of psychosis, indicated by a brief Psychosis Screener Questionnaire
- −An inability to read and/or understand English
In plain language
Assembled directly from this trial’s registry record. Every sentence traces to a field below — nothing here is generated or interpreted.
What this study is
This study is testing a treatment for a condition.
This study is not organised into the usual phase numbers — that is common for device, behavioural, and diagnostic research.
What is being given or done in this study: Brief Videos Delivered by Text Message.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.designInfo.primaryPurpose
- designModule.phases
- armsInterventionsModule.interventions[].name
How the study is run
Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.
Neither you nor the study team would know which group you are in until the study ends.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.designInfo.allocation
- designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
Is there a placebo?
This study does not list a placeboPlaceboA dummy treatment with no active medicine, used for comparison.Read more → group.
One group receives an existing treatment, so the two can be compared.
One group receives no study treatment at all, and is followed for comparison.
There are 2 groups in this study.
From the trial registry
Built from this field:
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
Who the study is looking for
The study lists an age range of 15 years to 25 years.
The study is open to people of any sex.
The study does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.
These are the criteria the study lists. Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.maximumAge
- eligibilityModule.sex
- eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How big and how long
The study aims to enrol about 98 people.
The study is currently expected to finish around December 2026.
The main measurement is taken over: From enrolmentEnrolmentThe number of participants a study plans to include, or has included.Read more → to the end of treatment at 10 weeks.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
- statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
What the study measures
Change in Posttraumatic Stress as Assessed by the PTSD Checklist (PCL-5) at 10 Weeks (End of Treatment) — measured over From enrolmentEnrolmentThe number of participants a study plans to include, or has included.Read more → to the end of treatment at 10 weeks.
From the trial registry
Built from these fields:
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].measure
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
Source: NCT07165782 on ClinicalTrials.gov. The full registry text is further down this page — this summary never replaces it.
Not medical advice. What do these terms mean?
What is being tested — in plain terms
About Brief Videos Delivered by Text MessageBehavioural
The intervention consists of brief videos delivered by text message, designed to deliver psychoeducation, coping strategies, and social support guidance for youth with PTSD. The focus is to reduce avoidance behaviors, increase exposure, change cognitions and enhance social support. The text messages will follow a six-module curriculum, covering key PTSD recovery topics: 1. Psychoeducation on PTSD - Understanding symptoms, trauma responses, and brain plasticity. 2. Reducing Avoidance - Encouraging gradual engagement with feared thoughts and situations. 3. Cognitive Coping Strategies - Introducing cognitive restructuring techniques. 4. Behavioral Coping Strategies - Teaching relaxation techniques (e.g., deep breathing, grounding). 5. Social Support - Highlighting the role of social support and strategies to strengthen connections. 6. Maintenance and Relapse Prevention - Preparing for setbacks and reinforcing progress.
From the trial registry — its own words, unedited.
What a behavioural is here: A programme, therapy, education, or lifestyle approach being studied.
Read the full explanation → · in clinical review
Common questions
Answered from this trial’s registry record. Where the record doesn’t say, these answers say so rather than filling the gap.
Am I eligible for this trial?
Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can decide whether someone can take part. Concord cannot make that determination, and neither can any tool that has not examined you.
What the study lists: an age range of 15 years to 25 years.
The full inclusionInclusion criteriaThe things you must have or be for a study to consider you.Read more → and exclusion criteriaExclusion criteriaThe things that would prevent someone from taking part.Read more → are published on this page, exactly as the study team wrote them.
The useful next step is to bring this trial to your doctor. Answering a few questions first gives them something concrete to review.
From the trial registry
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.maximumAge
- eligibilityModule.eligibilityCriteria
Is there a placebo?
This study does not list a placeboPlaceboA dummy treatment with no active medicine, used for comparison.Read more → group.
One group receives an existing treatment so the two can be compared.
One group receives no study treatment and is followed for comparison.
From the trial registry
- armsInterventionsModule.armGroups[].type
Would I know which treatment I am getting?
Neither you nor the study team would know which group you are in until the study ends.
Which group you would be placed in is decided by chance, like a coin flip — not by you and not by your doctor.
From the trial registry
- designModule.designInfo.maskingInfo.masking
- designModule.designInfo.allocation
Who can join?
The study lists an age range of 15 years to 25 years.
It is open to people of any sex.
It does not accept healthy volunteersHealthy volunteerSomeone without the condition being studied who takes part anyway.Read more →.
Only the trial siteTrial siteA hospital or clinic where a study is actually run.Read more → can confirm whether a particular person can take part.
From the trial registry
- eligibilityModule.minimumAge
- eligibilityModule.maximumAge
- eligibilityModule.sex
- eligibilityModule.healthyVolunteers
How long would this take?
The study's main measurement is taken over: From enrolmentEnrolmentThe number of participants a study plans to include, or has included.Read more → to the end of treatment at 10 weeks.
The study as a whole is currently expected to finish around 2026-12-30.
How long any one person takes part can differ from the study length. The study team can tell you what the schedule looks like in practice.
From the trial registry
- outcomesModule.primaryOutcomes[].timeFrame
- statusModule.completionDateStruct.date
How many people are taking part?
The study aims to enrol about 98 people.
From the trial registry
- designModule.enrollmentInfo.count
Where is this happening?
This study lists one location: Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Sites can open and close during a study, so confirm with the team before travelling.
From the trial registry
- trial_locations
About This Trial
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if informational videos (the intervention) sent by text messages can help young people (age 15 - 25) manage symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This is a small-scale trial to evaluate whether the intervention has potential to be effective, whether it is feasible to carry out a bigger study, and whether youth find the intervention acceptable.The main questions it aims to answer are: 1. Does the intervention help youth reduce their symptoms of PTSD, anxiety, and depression, improve how well they function day-to-day, and lead to post-traumatic growth. 2. Will it be possible to conduct a larger study on the intervention (e.g., are we able to attract participants to take part in the study; do participants follow through with the intervention and the study) and is the intervention acceptable to youth (e.g., do they watch the videos, and rate the videos as useful, interesting, understandable, and relevant)? Researchers will compare those who receive the intervention right away to those who wait to receive the intervention to see if there are differences between groups. Videos will teach youth about PTSD and provide the opportunity to practice strategies that have been shown to help with reduce symptoms of PTSD, such as exposure, reducing avoidance, social support, and coping strategies (e.g., changing your thoughts, deep breathing, and muscle relaxation). The study is fully online. Participants will be randomly placed in one of two groups: 1. Intervention Group: Gets three PTSD-related text messages per week for 10 weeks. They will also be asked to rate each of the videos on how helpful you found them. 2. Waitlist Group: Does not receive text messages until AFTER the final surveys for the study are completed (i.e., 5 months), then will receive the intervention. Everyone will be asked to complete online surveys about their mental health and functioning 3 times during the study: * Beginning of the study * 10 weeks into the study * 3 months after the videos end (end of study)
Worth passing on?
Save it to the Care Package and send it to them, or to their doctor, in one message. Whether they follow it up is theirs to decide.
Review the Care PackageThis page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Clinical trial eligibility can only be determined by the trial site after proper screening. Trial information is sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the most current status. Always consult your healthcare provider before making decisions about clinical trial participation.