Center for OCD and Related Disorders

Congratulations Dr. Sabine Wilhelm!

Sabine Wilhem, PhD has served as the Vice-Chair of the Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board (SCB) and has been instrumental in the success of the organization. She has generously accepted the position of Chair of the SCB and will serve in this role for the next two years.

Dr. Wilhelm is passionate about providing opportunities for additional young researchers, funding for high-level research, and involvement of the international research community. We are so grateful for her commitment to lead the SCB as we move into a new phase of organizational growth and commitment to care for all!

Center for OCD and Related Disorders

Do you have unwanted thoughts that are difficult to control and that get in the way of your daily life?

Do you have worries or doubts about the future that won’t go away?

Do you get stuck thinking about negative things that have happened?

Do you have Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder? Generalized Anxiety Disorder? Depression?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, are ages 18-60, live within the state of Massachusetts, are right-handed, and meet further study qualifications, you may be eligible to participate in a research study at Massachusetts General Hospital about repetitive, intrusive thoughts.

Many people struggle with unwanted intrusive thoughts that are difficult to control and cause them distress. We are conducting a research study to learn whether psychological treatment can help people with three types of repetitive negative thinking who have trouble stopping unwanted thoughts and shifting their attention: obsessions (as seen in obsessive compulsive disorder, OCD), worries (as seen in generalized anxiety disorder, GAD), and ruminations (as seen in major depressive disorder, MDD).

You may be compensated up to $200 for your participation which includes the following:
• A virtual screening/baseline visit, including a diagnostic clinical interview.
• Study treatment, including eight 60 min therapy sessions, which will be conducted virtually. Participants will be randomized (like the flip of a coin) to one of two treatment groups – Supportive Psychotherapy (SPT) or Attention Regulation Therapy (AR-ERT).
• 3 virtual assessment visits, including clinician interviews and online self-report measures
• 3 in-person visits, including:
o Electroencephalogram (EEG) procedures, in which we will record your brain activity using a non-invasive technique while you complete a computer task (occurring at the Charlestown Navy Yard campus)
o Eye tracking procedures, in which you view a series of images, and we will measure where on the screen you are looking and the sweatiness of your palms (occurring at the Simches Research Building, main campus)

Parking costs will also be reimbursed.

To register your interest, please fill out the following form: https://redcap.link/attentionregulationstudy_prescreen

For more information: https://mghocd.org/attentionregulationstudy/

To contact the study staff: 617-643-4387 or email [email protected]

Institution: Massachusetts General Hospital
Principal Investigator: Ryan Jane Jacoby, Ph.D.