Testing talk therapy for trauma in pregnant women

This trial is testing Written Exposure Therapy (WET)—a brief, 5-session talk therapy—to treat posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in pregnant women. Researchers want to see if this treatment works well for pregnant patients and whether it can be delivered effectively by community health workers, not just mental health specialists. The study will compare WET to another supportive therapy to understand which approach works best.

Many pregnant women with trauma-related stress don't receive treatment, especially low-income women and women of color, partly because there aren't enough mental health professionals available. This trial exists to find a shorter, simpler treatment that more people can access—and to test whether training community health workers to deliver it could help reduce stigma and increase care for pregnant women who need it.