Using Emotion Regulation to Decrease Aggression in Veterans With PTSD

In this pilot study for the Consortium to Alleviate PTSD, Shannon Miles, PhD, of the James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital in Tampa, Florida, and her study team will work with post-9/11 combat Veterans with PTSD and impulsive aggression. The Veterans will be identified as having impulsive aggression if they report having engaged in at least three episodes of aggression within the past month. The investigators will provide training in emotion regulation via an innovative three-session training called Managing Emotions to Reduce Aggression, or MERA. The goal of the pilot study is to test the feasibility of MERA in reducing impulsive aggression. A secondary goal is to prepare Veterans for psychotherapy for PTSD. One reason that too few Veterans seek PTSD treatment may be that they fear that they will not be able to control their emotional responses when they begin treatment. The investigators for this study believe that equipping Veterans with emotion regulation skills and knowledge about PTSD treatments may help them initiate, complete, and benefit from evidence-based psychotherapies. MERA is provided in a three-session, condensed time frame to make it accessible to Veterans whose careers, school, and families compete with treatment time. The training is delivered in a group format and incorporates emotion education, cognitive-behavioral and acceptance-based skills training, and information about what emotional experiences to expect from PTSD treatments. Study participants will undergo weekly assessments for emotion regulation and aggression. Following the MERA training, study participants will be followed by CAP investigators to monitor whether they seek out, receive, and complete evidence-based psychotherapies for PTSD.