Augmenting Exposure Therapy With Self-Distancing

University of Michigan

Status: Completed

Conditions: Anxiety

Treatments: Behavioral: Exposure Therapy and Self Distancing

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03549455

HUM00141761

Details and patient eligibility

About

Anxiety is prevalent, impairing, and costly in childhood. Evidence-based treatments for pediatric anxiety exist; however, as many as 40-60% of youth do not demonstrate optimal response. By identifying psychological factors that potentiate symptom severity and treatment response, it may be possible to strengthen these factors to treat, or even prevent the development of youth emotional disorders.

This study aims to examine whether the combination of Exposure and Self-Distancing is a feasible, acceptable, and efficient intervention for increasing perseverance in the face of exposures. This will be measured by child and parent report of treatment acceptability, examination of attendance and dropout rates, as well as participant and therapist report of participant engagement during exposures.

Enrollment: 10 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 7 to 17 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Parent or guardian willing to give informed consent to participate
• Children who give written or oral assent
• Ages 7 and older to under 18 years old
• Has a historical anxiety diagnosis (diagnosed within the last year either within a clinical or clinical research setting) and have moderate or greater levels of current anxiety symptoms
• Current or past history of elevated symptoms of depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and posttraumatic stress are allowable, but anxiety must be the chief complaint
• No evidence of acute risk due to suicidal intentions or behaviors in the past 6 months.

Exclusion criteria

• Currently receiving cognitive behavioral therapy or any other form of psychotherapy
• Have elevated symptoms of bipolar I/II disorder, schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, psychosis Not otherwise specified (NOS), mental retardation, severe behavioral concerns, or autism
• History of current substance/alcohol abuse/dependence (Past history abuse is allowable if in remission for greater than 1 year)

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

10 participants in 1 patient group

Exposure Therapy and Self Distancing

Experimental group

Description:

All subjects will have 2 introduction sessions and then receive Exposure therapy with Self-Distancing (2 weeks) following Exposure therapy without Self-Distancing (2 weeks) followed by 2 more weeks of Exposure therapy with Self-Distancing.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Exposure Therapy and Self Distancing