Brief Online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Indian Expatriates with Excessive Worry: a Pilot Feasibility Study (Worry-exp)

Karolinska Institute

Status: Completed

Conditions: Excessive Worry

Treatments: Behavioral: Brief online CBT targeting excessiv worry

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06609395

000

Worry-exp

Details and patient eligibility

About

Background: Expatriates may face challenges through distance from support systems, cultural adjustments, and language barriers, which may be associated with anxiety and elevated worry, particularly in times of ongoing global crises. Brief online cognitive-behavioral therapy (ICBT) is effective for treating excessive worry but has not been adapted for expatriate communities in Sweden.

Full description

This pilot study aimed to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary treatment effects of a five-week, therapist-guided, culturally adapted ICBT program. The program targeted excessive worry related to ongoing global crises among Indian expatriates.

Enrollment: 24 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• identifying as Indian expatriate currently living in Sweden
• self-reported dysfunctional worry, defined as worrying several times a day and the worry being experienced as difficult to control
• age ≥ 18 years;
• able to provide digital informed consent
• having daily access to a device with internet connection.

Exclusion criteria

• non-English speaking
• self-reported severe depression (>28 points on the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS-S; (Svanborg & Åsberg, 1994)
• suicidal risk (5 points on item 9 on the MADRS-S).

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: N/A

Interventional model: Single Group Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

24 participants in 1 patient group

Brief online CBT targeting excessive worry

Experimental group

Description:

The treatment in this trial was based on an online CBT intervention developed by Wahlund et al. (2021) for dysfunctional worry during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally designed for the Swedish population, the intervention was translated to English and adapted for Indian expatriates in Sweden, addressing broader global crises, including military conflicts and climate change.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Brief online CBT targeting excessiv worry