The Feasibility and Efficacy of a Two-week MCT Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in a Group Setting

University of Oslo

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Anxiety Disorders

Treatments: Other: Treatment group

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT05402306

REK269896

Details and patient eligibility

About

Long treatment durations may not always be feasible for patients due to pressure to get better quickly, long travel distance to treatment clinics, inflexible working hours, or childcare. To overcome these challenges intensive treatments are currently emerging and several research studies have shown significant and lasting results of diagnosis-specific intensive treatments. A transdiagnostic treatment in a group setting can contribute to a more efficient course of treatment for patients.

Research suggests that Metacognitive Therapy (MCT) is an effective treatment for anxiety disorders. However, MCT has not previously been used on inpatients over a two-week period. To make the treatment tangible for patients and easy to administer for therapists over a short time, attention training technique (ATT) will mainly be used as a changing technique.

The main aim of the study is to explore the feasibility and efficacy of intensive and short-term MCT for anxiety disorders in a group setting.

Full description

Design: The study will use randomized control trial with a waitlist control. Cohorts of 12 included patients will be randomly assigned to active treatment or waitlist for two weeks. The waitlist patients will receive the same treatment immediately after the two-week waiting period.

Inclusion criteria: Adults ranging from 18 to 30 years of age meeting diagnostic criteria for generalised anxiety disorder, social phobia, and/or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia will be included in the study. Further the participants must be able to communicate in Norwegian and provide written consent.

Exclusion criteria: Exclusion criteria will be ongoing drug abuse, history of psychotic episodes, current suicidality, or participants not able to adapt to an intensive group format.

Enrollment: 60 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 30 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Adults between 18 and 30 years
• Meeting diagnostic criteria for generalised anxiety disorder, social phobia, and/or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia
• Provide written consent to partake in the study

Exclusion criteria

• Ongoing drug abuse
• History of psychotic episodes
• Current suicidality
• Participants not able to adapt to an intensive group format

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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60 participants in 2 patient groups

Treatment group

Experimental group

Description:

A two-week intensive group treatment with MCT mainly focusing on attention training. The participants will be allocated into treatment in groups of six. Group sessions will be conducted two times a day for approximately 60 minutes.

Treatment:

Other: Treatment group

Waitlist control group

No Intervention group

Description:

Cohorts of 12 included patients will be randomly assigned to active treatment or waitlist for two weeks. The waitlist patients will receive the same treatment immediately after four-week waiting period.