Massed PE will be conducted by doctoral-level therapists. Participants will meet with their providers for individual, 90-minute sessions. They will then be asked to complete out-of-session treatment assignments throughout the rest of the day. Between the individual therapy session and out-of-session treatment assignments, participants will engage in approximately four to six hours of treatment per day, Monday through Friday, for two weeks. The stellate ganglion block injection will be administered between the first and second massed PE session by qualified medical personnel as per standard operating procedure for the placement of a stellate ganglion block. A research nurse will be in attendance during the procedure and for an hour recovery period following the block administration.
During PE treatment, participants will complete interim assessments of their PTSD symptoms, mood symptoms, trauma-related cognitions, and suicidal ideation proceeding sessions 6 and 10.
