Wednesday, July 16, 2025 7/16/2025

Multi-site Feasibility of Compassion Meditation for Veterans with PTSD

Award Number: R01AT010332
ORGANIZATION: CENTER FOR DRUG EVALUATION AND RESEARCH, NIH
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2019
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2026

Group Awards By:

View Award Description

Multi-site Feasibility of Compassion Meditation for Veterans with PTSD - PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common health concern among Veterans. Although empirically-supported approaches are widely available, engagement rates are low and partial/non response is common. There has been considerable interest in the role of complementary and alternative interventions for PTSD, but little research is available to guide decisions about care. Compassion meditation (CM), a contemplative practice that is intended to foster connectedness with others, shows promise for the treatment of PTSD in Veterans. In healthy populations, CM fosters positive emotion and social connectedness, both of which are known to enhance coping and resilience in the face of extreme stress. Based on this theoretical rationale, we recently completed a two-phase proof of concept trial of CM for Veterans with PTSD. The first phase employed qualitative and quantitative procedures to iteratively refine an existing CM protocol, CBCT® (Cognitively-Based Compassion Training), for Veterans with PTSD. The second phase utilized a pilot randomized controlled trial to establish the feasibility and acceptability of a randomized trial of CM for Veterans with PTSD and to examine potential clinical impact. On the basis of promising results, the proposed project will evaluate the feasibility of a future multi-site efficacy trial of CM for PTSD. Although our prior work is an encouraging first step, key questions remain. First, our data come from a single site in Southern California. It is possible that there are regional differences in the acceptability of CM, so we plan to examine the feasibility of recruiting and retaining Veterans residing in another area as well as confirming the acceptability of the approach to a more diverse sample. Second, our previous trial relied on a single therapist, who was actively engaged in the development process. It is important to demonstrate that others can be trained to deliver the approach with fidelity and to have some confidence that our results are attributable to the protocol rather than to an individual. Finally, in the interest of ultimately understanding the way in which these interventions lead to symptom change, we will continue to refine our assessment strategy, including adding behavioral methodologies to augment what can be gleaned from self-report measures. If successful, this project will lay the necessary groundwork for an efficacy trial of CM, which ultimately could provide an additional evidence-based treatment option for Veterans with PTSD.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $0 )
2025	2023	VETERANS MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO	3350 LA JOLLA VILLAGE DR	SAN DIEGO	CA	92161	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	5	6/13/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $0

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $595,336 )
2023	2023	VETERANS MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO	3350 LA JOLLA VILLAGE DR	SAN DIEGO	CA	92161	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	5	8/14/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$595,336
														Subtotal = $595,336

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $601,698 )
2022	2022	VETERANS MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO	3350 LA JOLLA VILLAGE DR STE 151A	SAN DIEGO	CA	92161	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	001	4	8/10/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$601,698
2022	2021	VETERANS MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO	3350 LA JOLLA VILLAGE DR STE 151A	SAN DIEGO	CA	92161	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	3	12/15/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $601,698

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $633,775 )
2021	2021	VETERANS MEDICAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION OF SAN DIEGO	3350 LA JOLLA VILLAGE DR STE 151A	SAN DIEGO	CA	92161	SAN DIEGO	USA	Research and Training in Complementary and Integrative Health	000	3	8/2/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$633,775
														Subtotal = $633,775

Grand Total All Awards = $1,830,809

Top

All Categories

About

Search

Reports

Data Submission

Award Information

Multi-site Feasibility of Compassion Meditation for Veterans with PTSD

Award Number: R01AT010332

ORGANIZATION: CENTER FOR DRUG EVALUATION AND RESEARCH, NIH

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/01/2019

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 01/31/2026

Federal Websites

Department of Health & Human Services

HHS Operating Divisions

HHS Staff Divisions

Download A Document Viewer