Self-monitoring and Reflection's Impact on Psychotherapy Outcomes: A Trial Protocol.

University of North Carolina (UNC)

Status: Completed

Conditions: Psychological; Psychotherapy; Therapeutic Alliance

Treatments: Other: Individual Psychotherapy; Other: Self-Monitoring

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT06038747

23-1067

Details and patient eligibility

About

The primary objective of this randomized controlled trial is to examine the influence of a brief post-session battery, designed to foster patient self-monitoring and reflection on their emotional reactions toward their psychotherapist, on the quality of the therapeutic relationship and treatment outcomes.

Full description

The quality of the therapeutic relationship is critical in determining psychotherapy outcomes. However, facilitating patients' self-awareness and reflection on their affective responses to their therapist remains understudied as a potential tool for enhancing this relationship and subsequent treatment outcomes. The primary objective of this study is to examine the influence of a brief post-session battery, designed to foster patient self-monitoring and reflection on their emotional reactions toward their psychotherapist, on the quality of the therapeutic relationship and treatment outcomes. Using an observational randomized control trial design, participants will be allocated into intervention and control groups. Those in the intervention group will complete a postsession battery following each therapy session, while the control group will only undergo regular treatment. Data collection will be facilitated through the Qualtrics online survey software and span baseline, mid-trial (5th week), and end-of-trial (10th week) assessments.

Enrollment: 520 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 99 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• being aged 18 years or older,
• being fluent in English,
• being currently under individual psychotherapy with a minimum frequency of two sessions per month.

Exclusion criteria

• having a legal guardian.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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520 participants in 2 patient groups

Individual Psychotherapy + Self-Monitoring

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in the intervention group will continue their regular individual psychotherapy sessions. Additionally, after each session, they will complete a brief postsession battery consisting of two scales on the affective reactions of the participants towards their therapist during session and read general feedback encouraging them to discuss their feelings and reflections with their therapist. This questionnaire aims to prompt reflection on the own experience of the therapeutic relationship.

Treatment:

Other: Self-Monitoring

Other: Individual Psychotherapy

Individual Psychotherapy

Active Comparator group

Description:

Participants in the control group will receive only treatment as usual (i.e., individual psychotherapy) sand and will not complete post-session questionnaires. Additionally, they will not receive any feedback at all encouraging them to discuss their emotional responses with their therapist during the session.

Treatment:

Other: Individual Psychotherapy