Please help spread the word on this study and forward to anyone who might want to participate. This is an ongoing study for three more years and will take place in Boston in collaboration with the HOME BASE PROGRAM. They will be reimbursing for travelling if needed.  Please direct all Program questions to the study coordinator, Arielle (info below). 2 flyers on the program are attached. Ride coordination to Boston might be a possibility as well…

Carole

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Sertraline, Prolonged Exposure Therapy and their Combination in OEF/OIF/OND with PTSD

What: 

This study’s primary aim is to understand how three options, each with proven effectiveness for PTSD, work in an OEF/OIF/OND population of veterans/service members with combat related PTSD, and to find individual characteristics in symptoms and biological markers that would help establish more personalized selection of the most effective treatment options.

The treatments that we will compare in this research study are: a talk therapy (Prolonged Exposure; PE), a medication (sertraline) or the combination of both given simultaneously. 

To achieve this: After medical and psychiatric evaluations are completed, eligible participants are randomly assigned to one of 3 study treatments:

o        Prolonged exposure therapy plus sertraline 

o        Prolonged exposure therapy plus placebo (a sugar pill without active medication)

o        Sertraline alone

Who:

·         Veterans and active duty service members who have combat-related PTSD or Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

·         Have been experiencing symptoms for at least 3 months

·         Served in one of the following conflicts: Operating Enduring Freedom (OEF), Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), or Operation New Dawn (OND)

Benefits:

·         Access to first line study medications and/or therapy with close individual care with PTSD experts, for free.

·         Payment for time completing assessments, $50 for each of the six assessments they complete, for a maximum total of $300 (and an additional $800 if choose 2 day optional imaging component in Michigan).

·         Learning more about your condition and how to manage it.

·         Helping others by contributing to our knowledge of new treatments for PTSD.

Confidentiality:

·         All inquires and study participation information is confidential and shared only with the research team.

·         Information about evaluation and treatment are not entered into the medical record, but instead are coded and looked at without names so no one is individually identified in any way.

·         Information regarding treatment visits will be shared only with participants’ direct formal consent and approval, with the exception of subpoena.

Where:

One Bowdoin Square, 6^th Floor, Center for Anxiety and Traumatic Stress Disorders at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston

Contact:

Arielle Horenstein, Study Coordinator

Phone: 617 726-1579, Email: ahorenstein@partners.org