You may be eligible to participate in a research study to evaluate a new treatment program for compulsive buying.

What:

• 12-week group treatment program for compulsive buying.
• Participants randomly assigned to a group therapy treatment group or wait list control group.
• Participants in wait list control group will be offered the group after 12 weeks.

When and Where:

• The group will be held on Thursday evenings, from 6-7:40 p.m., at Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy, 1841 Broadway, 4th Floor, NYC .
• Sessions go from September 16 to December 16, with no session on Thanksgiving.

Eligibility:

• Open to men and women age 18 and older who have problems with overspending and overshopping.
• Open to people not in psychotherapy or who have been in psychotherapy for at least six months.
• Patients presently in psychotherapy that is specifically aimed at reducing the overspending and overshopping behavior are not eligible.

Requirements:

• Weekly reading and assignments will take approximately 30 minutes daily.
• Participants will also be asked—before, during, and after the treatment—to fill out a series of standardized validated questionnaires.
• Fee: $120 for the sessions plus a $30 materials fee for a total of $150.
  

If you're interested in participating in the group, please call (917) 885-6887 and leave a message. A researcher will call you back to arrange a preliminary 15-minute telephone screening. Actual inclusion in the study is determined after an in-person interview with a clinician that will assess eligibility more comprehensively and answer any remaining questions.

This study has been approved by the Executive Committee of the Board of the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy