Does Stepping Stones Triple P plus Acceptance and Commitment Therapy improve parent, couple, and family adjustment following paediatric acquired brain injury? A randomised controlled trial

Paediatric acquired brain injury (ABI) is the most common cause of acquired disability in childhood. It frequently results in significant personality, cognitive, emotional and behavioural changes, and consequent impairment in independent functioning, education, employment and interpersonal relationships. Additionally, paediatric ABI impacts on the entire family system, with parents commonly reporting significant distress and adjustment difficulties. Despite this, there is currently limited research into effective programmes to support families following their child's ABI. This protocol describes a wait-list randomised controlled trial of a behavioural family intervention plus a parent stress management programme for paediatric ABI. Interventions will be conducted with parents in a group format, aiming to improve child outcomes by improving parenting behaviour and coping. Outcomes assessed will be: (i) child behaviour and emotional outcome as measured by parent and teacher reports; (ii) parental style and confidence; (iii) parental adjustment (stress, anxiety and depression symptoms); (iv) family functioning; (v) parent relationship; and (vi) parent psychological flexibility. Assessments will be via questionnaires conducted pre-, mid- and post- intervention, and at a 6-month follow-up. The theoretical basis, study hypotheses, methods and planned analyses are described.

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Efficacy of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Daily Life (ACT-DL) in early psychosis: study protocol for a multi-centre randomized controlled trial

Trials ◽

10.1186/s13063-019-3912-4 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ulrich Reininghaus ◽

Annelie Klippel ◽

Henrietta Steinhart ◽

Thomas Vaessen ◽

Martine van Nierop ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Randomised Controlled Trial ◽

Acceptance And Commitment Therapy ◽

Daily Life ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Psychotic Experiences ◽

Intervention Period ◽

Commitment Therapy ◽

Acceptance And Commitment ◽

Randomised Controlled

Abstract Background Psychotic experiences, social functioning and general psychopathology are important targets for early intervention in individuals with Ultra-High-Risk state (UHR) and a first-episode psychosis (FEP). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a promising, next-generation Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) that aims to modify these targets, but evidence on sustainable change and its underlying mechanisms in individuals’ daily lives remains limited. The aim of the INTERACT study is to investigate the efficacy of a novel ecological momentary intervention, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Daily Life (ACT-DL) in a multi-centre randomised controlled trial of individuals with UHR or FEP. Methods/design In a multi-centre randomised controlled trial, individuals aged 16–65 years with UHR or FEP will be randomly allocated to ACT-DL in addition to treatment as usual (TAU) as the experimental condition or a control condition of TAU only, which will include – for the entire study period – access to routine mental health care and, where applicable, CBT for psychosis (CBTp). Outcomes will be assessed at baseline (i.e. before randomisation), post-intervention (i.e. after the 8-week intervention period), and 6-month and 12-month follow-ups (i.e. 6 and 12 months after completing the intervention period) by blinded assessors. The primary outcome will be distress associated with psychotic experiences, while secondary outcomes will include (momentary) psychotic experiences, social functioning and psychopathology. Process measures to assess putative mechanisms of change will include psychological flexibility, stress sensitivity and reward experiences. In addition, acceptability, treatment adherence and treatment fidelity of ACT-DL will be assessed. Discussion The current study is the first to test the efficacy of ACT-DL in individuals with UHR and FEP. If this trial demonstrates the efficacy of ACT-DL, it has the potential to significantly advance the treatment of people with UHR and FEP and, more generally, provides initial support for implementing mHealth interventions in mental health services. Trial registration Netherlands Trial Register, ID: NTR4252. Registered on 26 September 2013.

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