Digital Self-efficacy Training to Bridge Waiting Times for Psychotherapy
Psychiatric DisorderWaiting for PsychotherapyThe main aim of this project is to improve waiting periods for specialised psychotherapy. We will apply a brief, smartphone-based self-efficacy training to patients with psychiatric disorders waiting for specialised psychotherapy. Additionally, we will use Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to assess mood, social contacts, and other parameters daily. We will investigate whether the training can improve self-efficacy and related constructs and if it can help reduce stress and waitlist drop-outs during waiting periods. Additionally, we will investigate if the self-efficacy training has a positive effect on motivation and therapeutical relationship regarding the subsequent therapy. After a screening for eligibility, participants will be randomly assigned to intervention and control group. At baseline, participants attend a laboratory session where they are assessed for current psychiatric disorders and further relevant psychological variables. They will then either participate in the digital self-efficacy training combined with EMA (intervention group) or in EMA only (control group). Both will be conducted via a smartphone app. Subsequently, participants will be asked to fill in post questionnaires at three different time points: after having finished app usage, one month later, and after the beginning of the subsequent psychotherapy.
Up To Me: Erasing the Stigma of Mental Illness on College Campuses
Mental IllnessBehavior Disorders5 moreThis is a three-lesson, disclosure-based stigma reduction program meant to reduce barriers to community living and participation for college students with psychiatric disabilities. The goal is to improve community living and participation of individuals with psychiatric disabilities within their postsecondary community using the Honest Open Proud (HOP) program. There are 3 specific objectives of the project:1) evaluate program fidelity, 2) assess program feasibility, and 3) conduct a randomized controlled trial of the HOP program with college students with mental illness to examine its efficacy. Anticipated outcomes include increases in 1) community integration, 2)self-esteem and self-efficacy, 3) empowerment and self-determination, 4) disclosure of mental illness in order to obtain needed support, and 5) care seeking/service engagement for mental illness. Ultimately, we expect to see increased academic persistence and achievement among HOP program completers.
A Study Comparing the Influence of a Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Program vs. Routine Management...
PsychiatryCaregivers1 moreThe objective of this project is to study the influence of mindfulness meditation on psychological health (stress level, affects, emotions) and physical health parameters (rate of inflammatory markers in the blood, activity of white blood cells involved in immuno-inflammation) in caregivers of people with psychiatric disorders. This study will provide the objective scientific data required for the development of mindfulness meditation programs for psychiatric caregivers. 80 participants will be randomly assigned to one of the following two groups: 40 participants in the "Mindfulness" group who will attend mindfulness meditation sessions in addition to their standard follow-up 40 participants in the "Control" group who will have a standard follow-up The duration of participation is 12 months and includes 3 visits and 8 mindfulness-based meditation sessions for the "Mindfulness" group.
The Ronnie Gardiner Method Effectiveness Study
Psychiatric DisorderThe investigators want to investigate the feasibility and transdiagnostic effectiveness of the Ronnie Gardiner Method (RGM) in a sample of Flemish psychogeriatric residential patients (≥60 years old) admitted to the Psychiatric Clinic of Alexianen Zorggroep Tienen. No control group will be used in this study, as every patient in the clinic is entitled to receive treatment. The investigators expect to observe significant improvements in the core executive functions (core EFs) by RGM participation. The investigators expect that the more sessions participants follow, the larger the effects will be. Given the strong connection between executive functions and emotion regulation, the investigators anticipate that strengthening the core EFs will in turn contribute to better emotion regulation. More specifically, the mediating role of core EFs in the relationship between the number of RGM sessions attended and improvement in emotion regulation is investigated. Given RGMs previously reported effects on quality of life, the investigators also expect to observe improved well-being. Additionally, the investigators want to examine to what extent positive experiences with RGM and temperament based personality types influence the effectiveness of the RGM training. The RGM training will be organised twice a week for a period of 12 weeks. The training sessions will be provided by trained RGM-practitioners in the Psychiatric Clinic of the Alexianen Zorggroep Tienen. Each session will last at least 45 minutes. Core EFs, emotion regulation and well-being are evaluated pre-, mid- and post-RGM (at 6-week intervals) using a number of relevant instruments (i.e. questionnaires and neuropsychological tests). At baseline, the information and consent forms will be delivered to the patient and exclusion criteria will be checked using the MMSE and the patient file. Experiences with RGM training will be evaluated midway and post-intervention by means of a brief questionnaire developed by the research team. Personality type questionnaires (The Behavioural Inhibition System (BIS)/Behavioural Activation System (BAS) scales and the Effortful Control (EC) scale), which allow us to study whether a particular temperament based personality type is predictive of RGMs success, are routinely administered in the psychiatric clinic upon admission.
Impact of an Alternative to Incarceration by Housing and Support by Assertive Community Treatment...
Severe Psychiatric DisorderPeople who are homeless with severe psychiatric disorders have to negotiate discontinuous mental health care pathways including high use of emergency departement and enforced hospitalisation, poor access to ambulatory care, poor access to common rights services and a greater risk of incarceration. In order to reduce morbidity, improve social integration and outpatient care for people with severe psychiatric disorders and multiple factors of social vulnerability, the concept of therapeutic jurisprudence has led to the emergence of mental health courts in Anglo-Saxon nations. These courts aim to condition alternatives to incarceration through community-based intensive care (assertive community treatment-ACT). ACT Teams offer direct access to housing without any prerequisite of treatment or abstinence. This model of community-based intensive care tends to demonstrate medical and legal effectiveness while being associated with greater care acceptability by patients. In France, very little data exists on the subject. Médecins du Monde (NGO), in collaboration with the Public Prosecutor's department of Marseille, proposes the implementation of the AILSI strategy for people who homeless with severe psychiatric disorders and referred to immediate referral procedure. The research unit EA 3279 - CEReSS is in charge of the independent evaluation of this innovative intervention. This is an randomized coontrolled study, with two groups: AILSI group (intervention) and TAU group (usual services). A total of 220 patients will be included (100 in the AILSI group / 120 in the TAU group). The main objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of the innovative program (AILSI) compared to usual services by assessing the duration of reincarceration at 18 months in each group, weighted by exposure time. . Duration of inclusion: 30 months; Duration of follow-up: 18 months; Total duration of the study: 54 months. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses will be conducted to address overall outcomes. Univariate and multivariate analyzes will be performed on the primary outcome as well as the secondary outcomes in order to highlight significant differences between the two groups and to identify predictive factors for improved effectiveness. The analysis will be conducted in accordance with Good Epidemiological Practices, and the final report will be written according to the CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) recommendations.
Drug Use & Infections in ViEtnam: Mental Health Intervention for INjecting Drug Users
Psychiatric DisorderDrug UseThe main objective of this study is to show that People Who Inject Drugs (PWID) suffering initially from a major depressive disorder, a psychotic disorder and/or had a suicide risk and who received a community-based psychiatric intervention improve sustainably their mental health and are comparable after intervention to a population of PWID free of these disorders in terms of: HIV/HCV exposure Severity of substance use Quality of life This is prospective one-year cohort study comparing 200 PWID diagnosed with a psychiatric disorder with 400 controls (200 PWID living with HIV and 200 PWID non-infected with HIV, both free of a diagnosis of depression, psychosis, suicidal risk at cohort initiation). Psychiatric intervention includes free psychiatric consultations and medications (issued on CBO sites), support from CBO members for appointments, information, treatment adherence, contact with families and tracing of those lost to follow-up. Target population and controls will also be proposed linkage to care (HIV, methadone) and harm reduction services.
Digital Therapeutics for Behavior Problems
Problem BehaviorChild BehaviorIn this project, the investigators aim to test the effectiveness of a mobile health (mHealth) system as a standalone versus coach-assisted intervention with the goal of achieving reach and scalability. Parents of children (ages 5-8) with disruptive behaviors (N = 324 subjects) will be randomly assigned to Group 1 (standalone app), Group 2 (coach-assisted app), or Group 3 (control app).
The Effect of Electronic Cigarette Use on Smoking Behaviors Among Smokers Receiving Outpatient Psychiatric...
Tobacco SmokingPsychiatric DisordersThis study aims to establish the feasibility and acceptability of a project designed to investigate the impact of electronic cigarette use on combustible cigarette smoking and smoking-related factors among smokers with psychiatric disorders, a high-risk population, who are not yet ready to quit smoking. All participants will be instructed to switch completely from combustible cigarettes to e-cigarettes for the next 8 weeks. They will be assessed at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks and 12 weeks.
Treating Depression on a Day-to-day Basis: Development of a Tool for Physicians Based on a Smartphone...
DepressionPsychiatric Disorder3 moreTesting and validating an e-health (smartphone application) approach to better understand the determinants of day-to-day symptomatology in depression, medication adherence, and treatment efficacy in the goal of maximizing patient care.
FCT Study: Reducing the Need for Out-of-Home Placements
Behavior ProblemMental Disorder1 moreDoes Family Centered Treatment (FCT) result in better youth, family, and cost outcomes, as compared to a Level II or Level III out-of-home placement (OHP)? The investigators test the hypotheses that among children/youth authorized to a Level II or Level III out-of-home placement, relative to youth who receive such a placement, those who receive FCT will have: Better: family functioning and mental/behavioral health outcomes (youth and caregiver). Lower probability of: being subject of a child protective services report, entering (or re-entering) foster care, being arrested, being retained in grade, being chronically absent (missing >15 days), dropping out of high school, or receiving an out-of-home placement. Lower cost of care.