A Comparison of Two Ultra-brief Interventions in Primary Care for Patients With Anxiety, Depression, and Stress. (RNTACTSweden)

A Comparison of Two Ultra-brief Interventions in Primary Care for Patients With Anxiety, Depression, and Stress.

A Comparison of Two Ultra-brief Interventions in Primary Care for Patients With Anxiety, Depression, and Stress: a Randomized Controlled Trial.

The goal of this clinical trial is to compare the effect and time consumption of the Swedish translation of the protocol for RNT-ACT with the internet administrated self-help treatment with therapist support (iCBT) for patients seeking medical care for depression, anxiety or stress at their primary care unit. The trial consists of a feasibility study and a randomized controlled trial with 3- and 12-month follow ups.

The main question it aims to answer are: Is the Swedish translation of a psychological treatment protocol targeting Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT) based on Acceptance and Commitment therapy (ACT), RNT-ACT, an effective treatment in Swedish primary care for the treatment of people with a high proportion of negative repetitive thoughts, who meet diagnostic criteria for depression and/or anxiety? The question is planned to be elaborated into the following parts: A feasibility study in which the material and the system are tested at a single care center. A randomized controlled trial conducted at several health centers where the comparison group is patients who are actualized for traditional psychological treatment in the form of iCBT for either anxiety or depression programs and where they are offered the second treatment arm after 3- and 12-month follow-ups. A follow-up study where time consumption and patient satisfaction are evaluated in both branches. Participants will be given either RNT-ACT or iCBT as treatment. The group who are given RNT-ACT will receive 2*60 minutes of therapy along with mindfulness files to listen to daily between sessions. The group who are given iCBT will receive internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, one of the forms of delivering Cognitive behavioral therapy that is implemented in Region Skåne and can thus be seen as treatment as usual. Patients will access the treatment through a secure website and communicate with their therapist by text when needed. Researchers will compare the RNT-ACT and iCBT groups to see if there are differences in depressive, anxiety- and stress- related symptoms, rumination, psychological flexibility, client satisfaction and therapist-rated time consumption. In the feasibility study researchers will also evaluate drop-out and recruitment rate.

Mental Disorder, Mental Health Issue, Mental Depression, Anxiety, Mental Stress, Rumination - Thoughts

After assessment the participant receives either the RNT-ACT arm or the iCBT arm. When the treatment is finished, the patient is called to an evaluation visit. If the person still needs care, we are faced with two choices. Either the patient is offered usual care and is thus removed from the three-month follow-up.Or it will wait for three-month follow up.

Patients are made aware of the study through information material at the primary care unit in the waiting room and on the therapists door. There they can notify the contact person about their interest. Letter with information about the study will be sent out to the interested patient. If the patient chooses to participate by answering positively on the information letter, they will be contacted by telephone by a psychologist at the respective primary care unit for the opportunity to ask questions and to book an appointment for a baseline measurement at the unit. After the baseline measurement the patient is randomly assigned to one of the treatment arms. Measurements with all self-assessment scales are carried out at week 0, at the end of treatment and 3 months after the end of treatment. The participants are then offered the opportunity for a follow-up 12 months after completion of treatment using the same scales as the 3-month follow-up.

Participants randomized to RNT-ACT will receive a total of 2 sessions of 60 minutes each as well as audio files to listen to between the occasions administered via internet. Previous studies have indicated that it doesn't make much of a difference whether the temporal distance between session 1 and session 2 is between 1 week and up to 3 months. At occasion 1, the time for occasion 2 is set. The temporal distance in days will noted for each patient. The treatment is inserted into the therapist's regular diary with 60 minutes session time and appropriate break before and after the treatment (e.g. at least 5-10 minutes) for preparation and post-administration where journal writing is included.

The people randomized to Internet treatment will be offered based on M.I.N.I 7.0 a suitable iCBT program in the Stöd och Behandling (SoB) platform. The patients follow a structured self-help material which can be seen as a standard treatment option in Region Skåne, "treatment as usual". The therapist has access to the material and the patient and the therapist can communicate via a chat function. The patients are matched to iCBT programs based on whether they are most likely to show symptoms of depression or anxiety. The main component of Internet processing consists of a structured self-help program in approximately eight modules, somewhat varying depending on which program in use. The program is based on proven CBT interventions for each problem area with a strong emphasis on psychoeducation but where different intervention elements is included.

Swedish Translation of the 2*60 minute Acceptance and Commitment Protocol for Repetitive Negative Thinking.

Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as mandatory routine care in Swedish Primary care and therefore considered Treatment as usual.

Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21); Min 0, Max 63 with high values associated with more Depression/Anxiety/Stress.

Percentage of patients who for any reason fails to continue in the trial until the end of intervention.

How many patients were recruited on average for one month in the primary care unit responsible for the feasibility study.

Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8). Min 8, Max 32 with higher values indicating higher satisfaction.

Working Alliance Inventory (WAI). Min 7, Max 84 with higher values indicating better working alliance.

Ruminative Responses Scale - Brooding and Reflection (RRS-BR). Min 5, Max 20. A higher value indicates a higher extent of ruminative response style and self-reflection.

Brief State Rumination Inventory (BSRI). Min 0, Max 80. A higher value indicates higher degree of ongoing ruminative cognitive responses.

Swedish Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (SAAQ). Min 6, Max 42. A higher value indicates lower psychological flexibility which indicates a worse value.

Avoidance and Fusion Questionnaire for Youth (AFQ-Y8). Min 0, Max 32. A higher value indicates lower psychological flexibility which indicates a worse value.

Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire - 7 items (CFQ-7). Min 1, Max 49. A higher value indicates higher cognitive fusion which indicates a worse value.

Inclusion Criteria: DASS-21 >25 Ability to communicate in Swedish orally and in writing Exclusion Criteria: Routine blood tests are carried out including blood count, thyroid hormone, liver status and fluid balance in order to be able to differentially diagnose any physical illness. In addition to physical illness are exclusion criteria Other psychological or psychiatric treatment, Suicidality, substance abuse, Anorexia Nervosa, psychosis, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and antisocial personality disorder (as verified based on M.I.N.I 7.0).

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