Evaluating the Telehealth Single Session Consultation Service

NCT04725578 | Unknown

• 1 other identifier: IRB2019-00362-2
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 30
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Stony Brook University is home to several mental health clinics, that all work towards achieving overall wellness of their clients. The goals of Stony Brook University are met with the help of associated clinics that strive to improve wellness of individuals and their communities by helping to treat both mental and physical health impairments. One of these many clinics is the Krasner Psychological Center (KPC). At present, the KPC faces a challenge common to virtually all mental health clinics across the United States: the demand for psychological services far outpaces the number of available providers. Indeed, in the US, approximately 70% of those in need of mental health services do not receive them. As such, wait-lists at mental health clinics like the KPC are increasingly long, and longer wait-times for psychotherapy have predicted worse clinical outcomes once treatment is accessed (i.e., a 'nocebo' effect). Thus, there is a pressing need for effective, sustainable service delivery models that may facilitate more rapid access to care-for instance, providing a low-intensity service rapidly after an individual decides to seek treatment, capitalizing on client motivation. This sort of rapidly-provided, low-intensity service might have the added benefit of reducing overall waitlist lengths--e.g., if some subset of clients find the low-intensity service to be sufficient, a single session might be sufficient (in some cases) to spur positive behavioral and emotional change. One solution to this problem is the integration of single-session services into mental health clinics. Extensive research suggests that both youths and adults can benefit from just one session of goal-directed counseling, and these clinical benefits have been observed for a wide array of problems-including anxiety, depression, self-harm, and interpersonal conflicts. This research suggests the possibility that, for some subset of clients, a single session of counseling may be helpful, or even sufficient, in reducing clinical distress. Further, offering such service in a telehealth format will alleviate frequently cited barriers to care like transportation, geographic constraints, and limited time. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and short-term effects of the new telehealth-Single-Session Consultation (SSC) service, which is presently being provided to clients on the waiting list for psychotherapeutic services at the Krasner Psychological Center. The telehealth-SSC offers clients the opportunity to participate in a single, goal-directed consultation session based on Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) within two weeks of inquiring about services at the KPC (typically, clients wait 2-6 months prior to their initial clinic appointment). SFBT is an evidence-based therapy approach that guides services offered by existing single-session therapy clinics internationally. Clients who participate in the telehealth-SSC at any of these clinics may find the session helpful; two weeks after participating in the session, they receive the option to remain on the waitlist for long-term psychotherapy or remove themselves from the waitlist for psychotherapy, depending on whether they feel their clinical needs have been successfully addressed.

Conditions

Mental Health Impairment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (4)

• Change in PHQ-9

  The PHQ-9 asks participants to rate 9 questions assessing dimensions of depression on a scale of 0 (Not at all) to 3 (Nearly every day). Total score ranges from 0 to 27 with higher scores indicating higher levels of depression.

  Baseline & 2-week follow-up

• Change in GAD-7

  The GAD-7 asks participants to rate 7 statements based on how generally anxious they have felt over the past 2 weeks on a 4 point scale ranging from 0 (Not at all) to 3 (Nearly every day). Total score ranges from 0 to 21 with higher scores representing higher generalized anxiety.

  Baseline & 2-week follow-up

• Change in Beck Hopelessness Scale

  Respondents report agreement with 4 items, each rated on a 0 (Very False) to 3 (Very True) scale, indicating levels of hopelessness about the future. Higher summed scores reflect greater levels of hopelessness with total scores ranging from 0-12.

  Baseline & 2-week follow-up

• Change in Readiness for Change Ruler

  The readiness for change ruler is a 3 item measure that examines participant's willingness to change to improve their mental health on a 0 (not at all confident/important/ready) to 10 scale (completely confident/ready). The total score ranges from 0 to 30, with higher score indicating higher levels of willingness to change.

  Baseline & immediately Post-SSC

Secondary Outcomes (2)

• Working Alliance Inventory - Short

  Immediately Post-SSC

• Consultation Feedback Form

  Immediately Post-SSC

Study Arms (1)

Telehealth Single Session Consultation

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Telehealth Single Session Consultation

Interventions

Telehealth Single Session Consultation BEHAVIORAL

A remotely delivered, single, goal-directed consultation session based on Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT). SFBT is an evidence-based therapy approach that is primarily focused on the client's present problems and their immediate future. When using SFBT in a single-session the aim of the intervention becomes empowering the client to take the smallest possible steps towards their desired future.

Also known as: Telehealth-SSC

Telehealth Single Session Consultation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 13 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• All adolescent (ages 13+) and adult clients on the waitlist for clinical psychotherapy services at the KPC will be eligible to take part in this research.

You may not qualify if:

• Child clients at the KPC under the age of 13 will not be eligible to participate in this study, because the teletherapy-Single-Session Consultation service presently being offered at the KPC is designed for use with adolescents and adults (i.e., it would be developmentally inappropriate for younger children.).
• Non-English speaking individuals will not be eligible to receive any clinical services at the KPC because all therapists at the clinics are English-speaking.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Stony Brook University: lead

Study Sites (1)

Stony Brook University

Stony Brook, New York, 11790, United States

Location

Study Officials

• Jessica L Schleider, PhD

  Stony Brook University

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Jessica Schleider

CONTACT

631-632-4131; jessica.schleider@stonybrook.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NA
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: SINGLE GROUP
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Assistant Professor of Psychology

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 18, 2021
• First Posted: January 26, 2021
• Study Start: February 15, 2021
• Primary Completion: May 31, 2021
• Study Completion: May 31, 2021
• Last Updated: January 26, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-01

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, SAP, ANALYTIC CODE

Locations

US (1)