An interventional study of Man Therapy in Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), Traumatic Brain Injury and Anger, sponsored by University of Colorado, Denver. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to male participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-09-16.
Sponsored by University of Colorado, Denver · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to determine if an interactive digital solution, Man Therapy, reduces indices of problematic anger in male military service members who screen positive for problematic anger.
The man questions this study aims to answer are:
Researchers will also examine if the effects of those aims differ based on a participant's history of a mild TBI, the mechanism of a primary mild TBI, and/or the number of mild TBIs.
Researchers will compare Man Therapy to a waitlist control. This will help determine if Man Therapy works better than no treatment.
Participants will:
Problematic anger is highly prevalent among military service members. Among service members, problematic anger prospectively predicts suicidal ideation, even after controlling for other psychiatric disorders. Existing approaches designed to reduce anger have not been shown to satisfactorily impact clinical outcomes across populations, and among service members receiving treatment for PTSD, anger is one of the few symptoms that persists even if a PTSD diagnosis subsides. Thus, there is a need to adapt existing problematic anger treatments for service members.
Man Therapy is an interactive digital solution that uses humor and straightforward language to circumvent traditional barriers to accessing mental health care. The aim of this study will evaluate the efficacy of the Man Therapy platform compared to waitlist control in reducing indices of problematic anger among male military service members with problematic anger. Participants will be randomized following the pre-intervention assessment. Participants randomized to receive Man Therapy will view the interactive digital solution in a single session. Assessments will occur pre-intervention, post-intervention, and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups. Waitlist controls will receive the intervention after the 3-month follow-up. The goal is to reduce indices of problematic anger and psychosocial correlates of anger.
Aim 1: To evaluate the efficacy of Man Therapy relative to waitlist controls in reducing indices of problematic anger among male military SMs who present with problematic anger (N = 226).
Hypothesis 1: Compared with waitlist controls at 1- and 3-month follow-ups, Man Therapy will result in lower levels of anger, as measured by the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2) subscale of "State Anger (S-Anger)."
Objective 2: To evaluate the efficacy of Man Therapy relative to waitlist controls in reducing psychosocial correlates of anger (e.g., suicidal ideation, PTSD symptoms, poor interpersonal functioning) among male military SMs with problematic anger.
Hypothesis 2: Compared with waitlist control at 1- and 3-month follow-ups, Man Therapy will result in lower levels of (a) PTSD symptoms (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 [PCL-5]), (b) suicidal ideation (Brief Suicide Cognitions Scale [B-SCS]), and (c) poor interpersonal functioning (UCLA Loneliness 3-Item Questionnaire [UCLA-3]).
Objective 3: To examine if the effects in Objectives 2 and 3 differ based on a participant's history of a mild TBI, the mechanism of primary mild TBI, and/or the number of mild TBIs.
Hypothesis 3: Compared with those without TBI, those with history of TBI will have higher levels of anger, as measured by the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2), higher levels of PTSD symptoms (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 [PCL-5]), more severe suicidal ideation (Brief Suicide Cognitions Scale [B-SCS]), and poorer interpersonal functioning (UCLA Loneliness 3-Item Questionnaire [UCLA-3]).
637 studies on the registry are indexed under Brain Concussion; 163 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 226 is above the median of 63 across 446 interventional studies indexed under Brain Concussion.
Browse Brain Concussion studies →University of Colorado, Denver is the lead sponsor of 1,543 studies on the registry; 317 are open to participants now.
Of its 147 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 92 (63%) have results posted.
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Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Behavioral: Man Therapy Participants randomized to this arm will be offered Man Therapy, which is an interactive digital solution designed to reduce problematic anger.
Behavioral: Man Therapy
Waitlist Control: Waitlist controls will be offered Man Therapy after the 3-month follow-up assessment. Using a waitlist control facilitates a comparison between the immediate effects of the Man Therapy intervention on problematic anger and co-occurring conditions and the natural progression of the conditions without intervention, as well as providing the control group with access to the intervention.
Man Therapy is an interactive digital solution that uses humor and straightforward language to circumvent traditional barriers to accessing mental health care, such as stigma. A core Man Therapy module focuses on anger, helping recipients to understand its causes and associated mitigating and potentiating factors, as well as teaching recipients accessible, easy-to-implement anger mitigation strategies, such as cognitive retraining and paced breathing. Participants will be given a list of content regarding anger to view and interact with in the Man Therapy website and encourages to explore the website further. They will then review and interact with materials for at least 20 minutes and up to 45 minutes in a single session.
State Anger (S-Anger) Subscale as Measured by State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory-2 (STAXI-2)
The STAXI-2 is a 57-item self-report measure of various dimensions of problematic anger. The STAXI-2 can generate scores on the following six subscales: state anger (S-Anger), trait anger (T-Anger), anger expression-out (AX-O), anger expression-in (AX-I), anger control-out (AC-O), and anger control-in (AC-I). Respondents rate each item on a 4-point scale from "almost never" to "almost always." Scores are summed within each subscale and higher scores represent more problematic anger.
Time frame: From enrollment to the completion of a 3-month follow-up assessment.
PTSD symptoms (PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 [PCL-5])
The PCL-5 is a 20-item self-report measure of PTSD symptoms per DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. Participants rate how much they have been bothered by each symptom over the past month, using a 5-point scale (0 =Not at all, 1 = A little bit, 2 = Moderately, 3 = Quite a bit, 4 = Extremely). Responses are summed to generate a total score and symptom cluster scores corresponding to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria (i.e., intrusions, avoidance, negative alterations in cognitions and mood, hyperarousal); higher scores reflect more severe PTSD symptomatology.
Time frame: From enrollment to the completion of the 3-month follow-up assessment.
Suicidal Ideation (UCLA Loneliness 3-Item Questionnaire [UCLA-3])
The B-SCS is a 6-item measure of suicide related cognitions. Items include: "I am completely unworthy of love," "Nothing can help solve my problems," "I can't cope with my problems any longer," Participants rate each item on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 to 5 (1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree). Items are summed to generate a total score ranging from 6 to 30, with higher scores indicating more suicide related cognitions. The B-SCS demonstrated strong psychometric properties including excellent internal consistency reliability and validity.
Time frame: From enrollment to the completion of the 3-month follow-up assessment.
Poor Interpersonal Functioning (UCLA Loneliness 3-Item Questionnaire [UCLA-3])
The UCLA-3 is a 3-item self-report measure of loneliness. Participants rate how often the feel a lack of companionship, left out, and isolated from others, using a 3-point scale (1 = Hardly Ever, 2 = Some of the time, 3 = Often). Responses are summed together with higher scores corresponding with more severe loneliness. The UCLA demonstrated strong internal consistencies, reliability, and validity.
Time frame: From enrollment to the completion of a 3-month follow-up assessment.
Plan to share: No — This trial involves sensitive participant information, including information regarding problematic anger, PTSD, and TBI and requires careful handling to prevent any negative impact on participants or their families.
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