A substantial number of people develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following trauma exposure, and many also use marijuana to help manage their symptoms. The co-occurrence of PTSD and marijuana use in trauma survivors is predictive of poorer outcomes and increased drop out from PTSD treatment. A new study led by Michele Bedard-Gilligan, PhD, is evaluating if and how marijuana use effects the treatment of PTSD by examining the relationship between marijuana and fear extinction in individuals with pathological fear as a result of trauma exposure.

Project STEP (Short Term Exposure for PTSD), funded by a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) R34 Treatment Development Grant, will explore whether an adapted short form of PTSD exposure treatment shows initial efficacy and feasibility (e.g., reduced drop out) for individuals with co-occurring PTSD and marijuana use, and will test the link between basic fear and recovery processes by looking at an extinction task as a predictor of treatment response for individuals with and without marijuana use.

This research is significant in its potential to identify a predictor of treatment response, to test an underlying mechanism of recovery in individuals with PTSD and co-occurring marijuana use, and to test feasibility of a novel intervention for a difficult to treat population. Co-investigators include Rick Ries, MD, Cynthia Stappenbeck, PhD, Nephi Stella, PhD, and Lori Zoellner, PhD (UW Department of Psychology).