Is Olfaction the Key to PTSD

Participants arriving to the ED following a potentially traumatic event such as a motor vehicle accident will be recruited into the study. Inclusion criteria: aged 18-65, Hebrew as a first language, no current psychiatric disorder. Exclusion criteria: loss of consciousness, unable to understand study procedure. Participants will answer self report questionnaires in the ED. They will be invited for a follow up interview 2 weeks and six months post trauma. Between 2 weeks and 6 months they will be folllowed up via online questionnaires. At the interviews, they will encounter 20 different olfactory stimuli, answer self-report questionnaires, and a clinical interview assessing Axis 1 disorders and PTSD will be completed. At six month, participants with PTSD will be offered therapy in the embedded RCT. Patients will receive VRET (Virtual reality exposure therapy) with or without olfaction.

Inclusion Criteria:hebrew native speakerunderstand study requirementsExclusion Criteria:current psychiatric disordersuicidalityvertigoepilepsy