Peer Delivered, Emotion Regulation-Focused Mental Health Prevention Training for Fire Fighter Trainees

NCT06290778 | Enrolling By Invitation

• 1 other identifier: Baylor IRB #023-445
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 480
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to determine if a peer-delivered emotion regulation training (Brief-Unified Protocol) workshop is effective for preventing posttraumatic stress and other psychological health symptoms in firefighter trainees. The main questions it aims to answer are:

• Do firefighter recruits who receive peer-delivered Brief-Unified Protocol report lower PTSD symptom severity over time compared to those who receive psychoeducation?
• Do firefighter recruits who receive peer-delivered Brief-Unified Protocol report lower AUD, depression, anxiety, and functional impairment symptom severity over time compared to those who receive psychoeducation?
• Do changes in neuroticism or emotion regulation mediate the effect of receiving the Brief-Unified Protocol on the treatment outcomes? Participants will:
• Participate in a Brief-Unified Protocol workshop or psychoeducation workshop during fire academy training.
• Complete a questionnaire prior to the workshop.
• Complete a questionnaire immediately following the workshop and follow up questionnaires at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after completing the fire academy. Researchers will compare firefighters who receive a peer-delivered Brief-Unified Protocol workshop to firefighters who receive peer-delivered psychoeducation to see if the Brief-Unified Protocol is effective for preventing posttraumatic stress and other psychological health symptoms.

Conditions

PTSD; Alcohol Use Disorder; Depression; Anxiety

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• PTSD Symptoms

  PTSD Checklist-5 (PCL-5). Score Range: 0-80. Higher scores indicate greater severity.

  6, 12, 18, and 24 months

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• Alcohol Use Disorder symptoms

  6, 12, 18, and 24 months

• Depression symptoms

  6, 12, 18, and 24 months

• Anxiety symptoms

  6, 12, 18, and 24 months

• Functional Impairment

  6, 12, 18, and 24 months

Study Arms (2)

Brief Unified Protocol

EXPERIMENTAL

This workshop includes education regarding basic human emotions, why we have emotions, how they help us, how they can get in the way, and how they are related to psychological health problems, including among firefighters. Skills that are helpful in managing strong or unwanted emotions will be taught and practiced during the workshop. A workshop manual will be provided. Brief videos summarizing the material will be emailed over the course of the month following the workshop.

Behavioral: Brief Unified Protocol

Psychoeducation

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

This workshop provides education regarding signs and symptoms of psychological health challenges that are most commonly experienced by firefighters. These include posttraumatic stress, depression, anxiety, and alcohol and substance misuse. This workshop is a standard part of fire academy training. A workshop manual will be provided. Brief videos summarizing the material will be emailed over the course of the month following the workshop.

Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Interventions

Brief Unified Protocol BEHAVIORAL

The Brief Transdiagnostic Treatment of Emotional Disorders Unified Protocol.

Brief Unified Protocol

Psychoeducation BEHAVIORAL

Psychoeducation regarding mental health challenges in fire service.

Psychoeducation

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 21 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• years of age or older
• English speaking
• Able to sign an informed consent form
• Able to complete the self-report assessment
• Willing to be contacted to complete post and follow-up assessments

You may not qualify if:

• Pregnant
• Have plans to relocate within two months of protocol initiation
• Report psychotic symptoms or suicidal behavior within the past 2 weeks
• Are currently dependent on substances other than tobacco or caffeine

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Baylor Research Institute: lead
• University of Pittsburgh: collaborator
• Boston University: collaborator
• Texas A&M University: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

MacArthur Clinic

Waco, Texas, 76708, United States

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Meyer EC, Farchione T, Kimbrel NA, Kwok OM, Pennington ML, Rostockyj J, Gulliver SB. Peer delivered, emotion regulation-focused mental health prevention training for fire fighter trainees: Design and methodology of a randomized controlled trial. Contemp Clin Trials Commun. 2025 Aug 18;47:101537. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2025.101537. eCollection 2025 Oct.

  PMID: 40893729 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic; Alcoholism; Depression; Anxiety Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Stress Disorders, Traumatic; Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders; Mental Disorders; Alcohol-Related Disorders; Substance-Related Disorders; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: February 26, 2024
• First Posted: March 4, 2024
• Study Start: July 18, 2024
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027
• Last Updated: February 12, 2026

Record last verified: 2025-09

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

US (1)