Telemedicine therapy for trauma and opioid use disorder

This trial is testing a new way to deliver prolonged exposure therapy—a proven treatment for trauma—to people who are also being treated for opioid use disorder. The study will compare three groups: people who receive their usual opioid treatment only, people who get usual treatment plus 12 weekly therapy sessions delivered by video, and people who get therapy plus small financial rewards for attending sessions. Researchers believe that delivering therapy this way might help more people actually complete their treatment.

Many people with opioid use disorder have experienced serious trauma and have trauma-related symptoms, but they often don't get treated for the trauma because therapy appointments are hard to attend or access. This trial is trying to solve that problem by making therapy easier to access through video calls and by testing whether small financial incentives help people stay engaged.