$2.4 million grant to study
the Transcendental Meditation program and PTSD in veterans Maharishi University of Management 7 December 2012 Maharishi University of Management Research Institute in partnership with the San Diego Veterans Administration Medical Center received a $2.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense to study the effect of the Transcendental Meditation technique on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans. The randomized controlled clinical trial will compare the Transcendental Meditation program to prolonged-exposure treatment—a trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy considered to be the VA's gold standard. A third group will receive health education. The study will follow 210 subjects and will take four years to complete. ''There's a national crisis taking place with PTSD among the military returning from Afghanistan and Iraq,'' said MUM professor Sanford Nidich, the study's principal investigator. ''PTSD is a common, disabling, and costly condition among veterans, affecting 10 to 20 percent of this high-risk population.'' Two previous pilot studies conducted on PTSD and the experiences of veterans across the country suggest that the Transcendental Meditation program can have a significant impact on reducing PTSD. . . . Other investigators of the study include Dr. Tom Rutledge from the San Diego VA Medical Center, as well as Dr. Robert Schneider, Dr. John Salerno, Dr. Maxwell Rainforth, and Dr. Carolyn King from MUM. Consulting on the research will be psychiatrists Dr. Norman Rosenthal and Dr. James Brooks. The research team will also include Dr. Paul Mills, who received his PhD in physiology from MUM. © Copyright 2012 Maharishi University of Management
