Acceptance and Commitment Group Therapy for Unaccompanied Minors

University of Cyprus

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Depression; Anxiety Disorders

Treatments: Behavioral: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05218031

K3_K1_1

Details and patient eligibility

About

Unaccompanied minors (UM) are considered to be a highly vulnerable refugee subgroup. Research has indicated that UM experience traumatic events and consequently develop high levels of psychopathology. Post-traumatic stress disorder is the most prevalent diagnosis, followed by depression, anxiety disorders as well as traumatic grief and conduct problems. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) may be particularly suited to the treatment of survivors of trauma and with vulnerable refugee groups such as UM. A 5-week ACT group intervention will be carried out and its feasibility in UM will be explored along with its effect on mental health. The ACT group intervention will be based on a Self-Help Booklet by the World Health Organization "Doing What Matters in Times of Stress: An Illustrated Guide". Following the 5-week ACT group intervention, focus groups with participants will be carried out to examine its acceptability and will be analysed qualitatively, using thematic analysis.

Full description

The hypotheses of the study are as follows:

1. The ACT group intervention will lead to increases in UM psychological well-being and quality of life compared to a waiting-list (WL) control group. This includes improvements in post-traumatic stress symptoms, depression, anxiety, stress, and sleep difficulties. (Primary outcomes).
2. The UM receiving the ACT group intervention will demonstrate improvements in their prosocial behaviour compared to the WL control group. (Primary outcomes).
3. At post-intervention, UM receiving the ACT group intervention will have enhanced psychological flexibility compared to the WL control group. It is predicted that there will be decreased experiential avoidance and cognitive fusion, coupled with increases in values-driven committed action, present moment awareness and self-as-context. (Secondary outcomes).
4. At the 1-month and 3-month follow-up time points, the UM receiving the ACT group intervention will have retained the improvements from the treatment (i.e., increased psychological wellbeing, enhanced psychological flexibility, augmented prosocial behaviour) compared to the WL control group. Additionally, it is predicted that UM who completed the ACT group intervention will not only have sustained the benefits observed directly post-intervention but will in fact keep making progress at follow-up time points compared to the WL control group.

From the qualitative analysis, the investigators presume to provide critical insights as to what is perceived acceptable and culturally appropriate treatment for this population.

Enrollment: 70 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 13 to 18 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Unaccompanied refugee minors living in sheltered accommodation in Cyprus.
• No specific diagnosis required to take part in the study.
• No specific cultural background required.
• Minors who provide consent.

Exclusion criteria

• Presence of active psychosis.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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70 participants in 2 patient groups

ACT Intervention

Experimental group

Description:

5-week ACT Group Intervention based on the Self-Help Booklet by the World Health Organization "Doing What Matters in Times of Stress: An Illustrated Guide".

Treatment:

Behavioral: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Control group

No Intervention group

Description:

Waiting-list