It is expected that large numbers of healthcare workers will experience a broad range ofpsychological reactions and symptoms including anxiety, depression, moral distress, andtrauma symptoms that will cause both significant suffering as well as occupational andsocial impairment. The purpose of this study is to find interventions which are helpfulin treating psychological distress in healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients.There are two phases of the study. All participants will take part in Phase I, whichconsists of 4 sessions over a two-week period of either a narrative writing interventionor a medical music intervention. Participants will be randomly assigned to the narrativewriting intervention or medical music intervention.After Phase I, participants will be re-assessed. Healthcare workers who meet criteria forPTSD will be given the option to participate in Phase II of the study, in which they willbe offered a choice between one of two evidence-based treatments for PTSD: InterpersonalTherapy (IPT) or Exposure Therapy (ET). Both treatments are comprised of ten 75-minutesessions scheduled twice weekly. Participants will be allowed to choose a preferredtreatment in Phase II. After Phase II participants will complete a final assessmentconcluding the study. All interventions will be offered using distance technology.
Behavioral: Medical Music
Participants randomized to this condition will complete 4 medical music sessions over the
course of 2 weeks
Behavioral: Narrative Writing
Participants randomized to this condition will complete 4 narrative writing sessions over
the course of 2 weeks
Behavioral: Prolonged Exposure Therapy
Psychotherapy including imaginal exposure for PTSD
Behavioral: Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Psychotherapy that focuses on the effects of PTSD on current interpersonal functioning
Inclusion Criteria:
- Any healthcare worker providing medical care or support for COVID-19 patients
- English-speaking
- Age >18
- Medically stable
- Able to provide informed consent and function at an intellectual level sufficient to
allow accurate completion of all assessment instruments
- If on psychotropic medication stable for prior 60 days
For phase II additional inclusion criteria:
- Current diagnosis of PTSD
Exclusion Criteria:
- Current significant unstable medical illness precluding regular session attendance
or assessment completion
- Participants who in the investigator's judgment pose a current homicidal, suicidal,
or other risk
- Lifetime or current diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder
- Participation in a clinical trial or concurrent evidence-based treatment for
psychiatric conditions or PTSD during the previous 3 months.
Weill Cornell Medicine
New York, New York, United States
Investigator: Olivia Baryluk, BS
Investigator: JoAnn Difede, PhD
Olivia Baryluk, BS
212-821-0783
olb4002@med.cornell.edu
JoAnn Difede, PhD, Principal Investigator
Weill Medical College of Cornell University