The Effects of an Expectation-focused Nonguided Therapy Preparation

NCT05519722 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: ENThER
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 81
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Various studies have shown that a more positive outcome expectation can have an influence on the actual treatment outcome of outpatient psychotherapeutic treatments. Therefore, the aim of this online study is to investigate whether \[1\] the patients' outcome expectation of outpatient psychotherapy can be optimized by a brief nonguided online intervention and whether \[2\] this intervention can influence important factors of psychotherapy, such as active cooperation, the therapeutic relationship, motivation, and regular attendance to therapy. To examine these questions, patients who are waiting for outpatient therapy will be randomized into two groups (control vs. intervention group) after baseline assessment. The intervention group will participate in a brief therapy preparation (30 minutes) that focuses on optimizing outcome expectations. Both groups will fill out questionnaires again on the following day, during the diagnostic phase at the beginning of therapy and six months later (or at the end of therapy in case therapy ends before the 6-month-follow-up). Furthermore, therapists will also fill out questionnaires during the diagnostic phase at the beginning of therapy and six months later (or at the end of therapy in case therapy ends before the 6-month-follow-up).

Conditions

Expectations

Keywords

expectations; intervention; online; psychotherapy; patients; waitlist

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in outcome expectation (Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ) scale) from Baseline to T1

  German version of the Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ), 6-item scale (Raeke, 2013).The CEQ consists of two subscales with four items measuring cognitive-focused credibility (e.g., "At this point, how logical does the therapy offered to you seem?") and two items measuring affect-focused expectations (e.g., "By the end of the therapy period, how much improvement in your symptoms do you really feel will occur?"). The CEQ applies different rating scales; a 9-point scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 9 (very much) and a percentage rating scale ranging from 0% (not at all) to 100% (very much) with higher sum scores indicating greater treatment credibility and expectations.

  Baseline, T1 (following day)

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Change in outcome expectation (Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ) scale) from Baseline to T2 to T3

  Baseline, T2 (start of therapy), T3 (6-month-follow-up)

• Change in outcome expectation and process expectations (Milwaukee Psychotherapy Expectations Questionnaire (MPEQ)) from Baseline to T1 to T2 to T3

  Baseline, T1 (following day), T2 (start of therapy), T3 (6-month-follow-up)

• Change in scores on the subscale for treatment expectations of the the generic rating scale for previous treatment experiences, treatment expectations, and treatment effects (GEEE) from baseline to T1 to T2 to T3

  Baseline, T1 (following day), T2 (start of therapy), T3 (6-month-follow-up)

• Change in symptom severity (Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Patient Health Questionnaire 4 (PHQ-4), Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R))

  Baseline, T2 (start of therapy), T3 (6-month-follow-up)

Other Outcomes (7)

• General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE)

  Baseline, T1 (following day), T2 (start of therapy), T3 (6-month-follow-up)

• Therapeutic Relationship (Helping Alliance Questionaire (HAQ))

  T2 (start of therapy), T3 (6-month-follow-up)

• Treatment adherence

  T2 (start of therapy), T3 (6-month-follow-up)

Study Arms (2)

Intervention group

EXPERIMENTAL

Behavioral: Expectation-focused online intervention

Control group

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

Expectation-focused online intervention BEHAVIORAL

Patients receive an expectation-focused online intervention (around 30 minutes) consisting of a video with general information about psychotherapy, a video with reports of patients' therapy experiences, questions on the content of the videos as well as open questions on personal strengths, fears and expectations in the context of therapy. This intervention aims to optimize patients' expectations by focusing on positive and realistic expectations regarding the psychotherapeutic process.

Intervention group

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• patients who are waiting for therapy at the ambulance for psychotherapy Marburg ("Psychotherapie-Ambulanz Marburg")
• Age 18 or above
• Fluency in German
• Informed consent

You may not qualify if:

• visual or hearing impairment that interferes with viewing or listening to video recordings

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Philipps University Marburg: lead

Study Sites (1)

Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg

Marburg, 35032, Germany

Location

Study Officials

• Winfried Rief, Prof. Dr.

  Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Dept. of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: The patients will be randomly distributed to the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group will receive a nonguided online-intervention to optimize expectations. The control group will receive no intervention at all.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: August 26, 2022
• First Posted: August 29, 2022
• Study Start: September 15, 2022
• Primary Completion: March 18, 2024
• Study Completion: March 31, 2024
• Last Updated: August 7, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-08

Locations

DE (1)