Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Depressed Individuals Living With Spinal Cord Injury Sustained Within 5 Years
Purpose
This randomized controlled trial aims to assess effects of videoconferencing acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on mental health outcomes in individuals living with spinal cord injuries (SCI). A total of 40 individuals living with SCI sustained within 5 years and experiencing depressive symptoms will be recruited and randomly assigned to either the ACT group or the wait-list control group. The ACT group will receive 8 weekly individual ACT sessions guided by a coach through videoconferencing. The wait-list group will receive ACT sessions after the study period ends. We will provide psychoeducation materials related to SCI as supplemental resources to both groups. Mental health outcomes using self-reported questionnaires will be collected at pretest, posttest, and 2-month follow-up. Exploratory hypotheses are that the group undergoing the ACT intervention supplemented with psychoeducation will show improvements in mental health outcomes (e.g., depression) and ACT processes (e.g., psychological flexibility) at posttest and 2-month follow-up, compared to the wait-list control group provided with psychoeducation materials alone. Interviews will be conducted at posttest to explore the participants' experiences in ACT.
Conditions
- Depression
- Spinal Cord Injuries
Eligibility
- Eligible Ages
- Over 18 Years
- Eligible Genders
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- community-dwelling adults (aged 18 years or older) living with spinal cord injuries sustained within 5 years - having at least mild depression measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 - having a computer or a smartphone and internet access at home
Exclusion Criteria
- having cognitive deficits or language barriers that might impede study participation - having suicidal attempts within 6 months; - having a prior experience with acceptance and commitment therapy
Study Design
- Phase
- N/A
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel Assignment
- Primary Purpose
- Treatment
- Masking
- Single (Investigator)
Arm Groups
| Arm | Description | Assigned Intervention |
|---|---|---|
|
Experimental Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) group |
8 weekly ACT sessions individually guided by a trained coach through Zoom videoconferencing with psychoeducation materials provided |
|
|
Other Wait-list control group with psychoeducation materials provided |
Care as usual with psychoeducation materials provided during the study period and ACT sessions provided after the study period ends |
|
Recruiting Locations
More Details
- Status
- Recruiting
- Sponsor
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
Detailed Description
This randomized controlled trial aims to assess effects of videoconferencing acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) on mental health outcomes in individuals living with spinal cord injuries (SCI). A total of 40 individuals living with SCI sustained within 5 years and experiencing depressive symptoms will be recruited and randomly assigned to either the ACT group or the wait-list control group. The ACT group will receive 8 weekly individual ACT sessions guided by a coach through videoconferencing. The wait-list group will receive ACT sessions after the study period ends. We will provide psychoeducation materials related to SCI as supplemental resources to both groups. Mental health outcomes using self-reported questionnaires will be collected at pretest, posttest, and 2-month follow-up. Exploratory hypotheses are that the group undergoing the ACT intervention supplemented with psychoeducation will show improvements in depression (primary outcome), secondary mental health outcomes (e.g., anxiety, stress, and grief), and ACT processes (e.g., psychological flexibility) at posttest and 2-month follow-up, compared to the wait-list control group provided with psychoeducation materials alone. Interviews will be conducted at posttest to explore the participants' experiences in ACT.
