2025 Disaster Mental Health Clinical Trials, Research & Treatment

What is it? Conditions Recovery & Lifestyle Changes Research Further Clinical Trials Conclusion

What is Disaster Mental Health?

Disaster mental health refers to mental health services for victims, first responders, and medical personnel who experience disaster. Disaster can include a wide variety of sudden, catastrophic events that cause loss of life, such as an earthquake, a terrorist attack, or even a global pandemic.

What Conditions Are Associated With Disaster Mental Health?

Traumatic experiences during disaster can produce a variety of mental health conditions that last long after danger ends. Some of these may be related to neurological changes produced by long periods of “fight or flight.”

One of the most prominent conditions associated with disaster mental health is PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.) Once thought common only in military conflict, it is now understood PTSD can come from any intense experience of danger that provokes feelings of helplessness.

Clinical Trials on the Disaster Mental Health

PTSD can have symptoms including flashbacks, memory loss (especially in relation to the traumatic event), anxiety, depression, difficulty sleeping, nightmares, and angry outbursts. The vast majority of PTSD sufferers are nonviolent and pose no threat to others.

Anxiety and depression are typical complications from any disaster. Both adults and children may feel guilty, believing they “should have done more.” Emotional flashbacks in which the sufferer re-experiences negative emotions without “seeing” or “hearing” the event, are common.

Disaster Mental Health Recovery and Lifestyle Changes

Disaster mental health treatment often includes a combination of medication and therapy. Medication focuses on reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression. Therapy can be in a group or one-on-one setting. Its primary goal is to help a sufferer process trauma.

One of the biggest challenges in disaster mental health care is the difficulty sufferers face verbalizing their experiences. Processing the emotions that come from trauma help reduce their effect on a person’s life. Novel approaches such as art therapy help many individuals express trauma in a way that helps. Techniques like journaling may also be used.

Disaster mental health patients need to identify psychological triggers in their environment. These triggers can cause them to re-experience the emotions or sensations of a past trauma. At first, recognizing and avoiding such triggers is advisable. With professional help, it’s possible to overcome the negative associations of triggers in a controlled environment.

Disaster Mental Health Research

Disaster mental health has been a prominent concern in psychology for decades. As researchers have uncovered effects of trauma on the brain, it has become clear profound neurological changes can occur during disaster even if one is not physically harmed.

Disaster mental health research focuses on two main areas: Reduction and treatment. Reduction aims to equip at-risk populations, like police and EMTs, with coping strategies to manage trauma. Treatment focuses on the neurobiology of trauma, creating better clinical resources for disaster mental health.

Why is Further Disaster Mental Health Research Necessary?

Millions of people all around the world are affected by mental health issues arising from disaster. The lessons of disaster mental health apply to everything from the COVID-19 outbreak to individual experiences of sexual assault or other criminal violence. With that in mind, all disaster mental health research has potential to help a broad spectrum of the population.

Disaster Mental Health Clinical Trials

This list contains all disaster mental health clinical trials on record at ClinicalTrials.gov. To feature a clinical trial on our site, contact us.

Study of ABX-002 for the Adjunctive Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder (AMPLIFY)
on June 20, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Major Depressive Disorder Interventions: Drug: ABX-002; Other: Placebo Sponsors: Autobahn Therapeutics, Inc. Recruiting
The Effects of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy in People With Parkinson's Disease
on June 19, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Parkinson's Disease Interventions: Behavioral: MBCT Sponsors: Radboud University Medical Center Recruiting
Effects of Different Dual-Task Exercises in Children With Mild Mental Retardation
on June 19, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Mental Retardation Interventions: Behavioral: Motor-Motor Dual Task Exercise Group; Behavioral: Motor-Cognitive Dual Task Exercise Group; Behavioral: Control Group Sponsors: Istanbul University - Cerrahpasa Recruiting
A Study to Investigate Effectiveness of Tirzepatide Following Initiation of Ixekizumab in Participants With Active Psoriatic Arthritis and Overweight or Obesity in Clinical Practice (TOGETHER AMPLIFY-PsA)
on June 19, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Psoriatic Arthritis; Overweight or Obesity Interventions: Drug: Tirzepatide Sponsors: Eli Lilly and Company Recruiting
Screening for Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) and Cognitive Function in Individuals With History of Stroke
on June 19, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Stroke; Brain Disease; Vascular Diseases; Cerebrovascular Disorder Sponsors: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Recruiting
Characterization of Nociception Phenotype in Individuals With Intellectual Disability
on June 19, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Intellectual Disability Interventions: Device: TSA2 Thermosensory Stimulator Sponsors: National Institutes of Health Clinical Center (CC) Recruiting
Evaluating Treatments for Suicidal Veterans With PTSD
on June 19, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Self-directed Violence; Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Interventions: Behavioral: Dialectical Behavior Therapy; Behavioral: Dialectical Behavior Therapy Prolonged Exposure protocol; Behavioral: Prolonged Exposure therapy; Behavioral: Suicide risk management Sponsors: VA Office of Research and Development Recruiting
Development and Validation of the Observatory Battery of Common Eye Disorders for Adults With Intellectual Disability
on June 19, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Intellectual Disability Interventions: Other: no intervention Sponsors: National Taiwan University Hospital Recruiting
A Phase II, Placebo Controlled, Clinical Trial of Topical TolaSure Targeting Aggregated Mutant Keratin in Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex
on June 18, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex Interventions: Drug: 5% TolaSure Topical Gel; Drug: Topical Placebo Gel Sponsors: BioMendics, LLC; Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago; Stanford University; Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Recruiting
Efficacy and Safety of Gemlapodect (NOE-105) in Adults and Adolescents With Tourette Syndrome
on June 18, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Tourette Syndrome Interventions: Drug: Gemlapodect; Drug: Placebo Sponsors: Noema Pharma AG Recruiting
Effect of Early Assessment Team for Patients Referred to Outpatient Mental Health Care
on June 18, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Mental Disorder Interventions: Behavioral: Early assessment team; Behavioral: Admission to General psychiatric outpatient clinic Sponsors: St. Olavs Hospital; Norwegian University of Science and Technology Recruiting
A Study of Zasocitinib in Adults With Psoriatic Arthritis Who Have Not Taken Biologic Medicines
on June 17, 2025 at 4:00 am
Conditions: Psoriatic Arthritis Interventions: Drug: Zasocitinib; Drug: Active Comparator; Drug: Placebo Sponsors: Takeda Recruiting

Conclusion

With more people experiencing disaster, stigma around seeking disaster mental health treatment is beginning to fade. Disaster mental health clinical resources will depend on active clinical trials that uncover further information about the brain’s trauma response. Further medical research may help millions of people reclaim their sense of stability.