Calming Minds Study

NCT07577401 | Not Yet Recruiting DMC

• 1 other identifier: IRB-25-1994
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 500
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The goal of this study is to understand why certain treatments help people reduce repetitive negative thinking (RNT), which is common in many mental health problems. We want to:

1. 1.Figure out what actually causes repetitive negative thinking to decrease when people use cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).
2. 2.Find out which parts of RNT-focused CBT are the most important - the parts that truly make a difference in reducing RNT.

Conditions

Anxiety; Anxiety Depression; Worry; Depression; Rumination - Thoughts

Keywords

Imperial Valley College; Community College; Depression; Worry; Anxiety; Mental Health; STAND; Calming Minds

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in Perseverative Thinking Questionnaire score from baseline to post-intervention

  Change in repetitive negative thought as indexed by the Perseverative Thinking questionnaire

  Baseline, 16 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (7)

• Change in GAD-7 score from baseline to post-intervention

  Baseline, 16 weeks & 52 weeks

• Change in PHQ-9 score from baseline to post-intervention

  Baseline, 16 weeks & 52 weeks

• Change in WEMWBS from baseline to post-intervention

  Baseline, 16 weeks & 52 weeks

• Change in RRS-Brooding subscale from baseline to post-intervention

  Baseline, 16 weeks & 52 weeks

• Change in PSWQ score from baseline to post-intervention

  Baseline, 16 weeks & 52 weeks

Study Arms (16)

Psychoeducation Only

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants receive only core psychoeducation without any additional RF-CBT components.

Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Be Specific

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in increasing specificity and concreteness ("Be Specific") in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Specific; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Be Kind

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in self-compassion ("Be Kind") in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Kind; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Break Habit

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in breaking the habit of repetitive negative thinking ("Break Habit") in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Break Habit; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Be Present

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in absorption in direct experience ("Be Present") in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Present; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Be Specific + Be Kind

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in both specificity/concreteness and self-compassion in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Specific; Behavioral: Be Kind; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Be Specific + Be Present

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in both specificity/concreteness and absorption in direct experience in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Specific; Behavioral: Be Present; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Be Kind + Be Present

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in both self-compassion and absorption in direct experience in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Kind; Behavioral: Be Present; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Be Specific + Be Kind + Be Present

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in specificity/concreteness, self-compassion, and absorption in direct experience in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Specific; Behavioral: Be Kind; Behavioral: Be Present; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Break Habit + Be Specific

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in both breaking the habit of RNT and increasing specificity/concreteness in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Specific; Behavioral: Break Habit; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Break Habit + Be Kind

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in both breaking the habit of RNT and self-compassion in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Kind; Behavioral: Break Habit; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Break Habit + Be Specific + Be Kind

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in breaking the habit of RNT, specificity/concreteness, and self-compassion in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Specific; Behavioral: Be Kind; Behavioral: Break Habit; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Break Habit + Be Present

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in both breaking the habit of RNT and absorption in direct experience in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Present; Behavioral: Break Habit; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Break Habit + Be Specific+ Be Present

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in breaking the habit of RNT, specificity/concreteness, and absorption in direct experience in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Specific; Behavioral: Be Present; Behavioral: Break Habit; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Break Habit + Be Kind + Be Present

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in breaking the habit of RNT, self-compassion, and absorption in direct experience in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Kind; Behavioral: Be Present; Behavioral: Break Habit; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

ALL

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants receive training in all four RF-CBT components: breaking the habit of RNT, specificity/concreteness, self-compassion, and absorption in direct experience; in addition to standard psychoeducation.

Behavioral: Be Specific; Behavioral: Be Kind; Behavioral: Be Present; Behavioral: Break Habit; Behavioral: Psychoeducation

Interventions

Be Specific BEHAVIORAL

Digital therapy lessons and coaching that emphasize skills in shifting from unhelpful abstract to helpful concrete processing style. Helping participants make changes to processing style to improve problem-solving and reduce emotional reactivity. Training concrete thinking to reduce RNT by increasing specific contextualized detail in description of events and plans.

ALL; Be Specific; Be Specific + Be Kind; Be Specific + Be Kind + Be Present; Be Specific + Be Present; Break Habit + Be Specific; Break Habit + Be Specific + Be Kind; Break Habit + Be Specific+ Be Present

Be Kind BEHAVIORAL

Digital therapy lessons and coaching that emphasize skills for replacing self-criticism with self-compassion. Helping participants shift toward a kinder, more validating way of relating to themselves to reduce the emotional patterns that sustain RNT. Training self-compassion skills to counter harsh self-evaluation and support emotional regulation.

ALL; Be Kind; Be Kind + Be Present; Be Specific + Be Kind; Be Specific + Be Kind + Be Present; Break Habit + Be Kind; Break Habit + Be Kind + Be Present; Break Habit + Be Specific + Be Kind

Be Present BEHAVIORAL

Digital therapy lessons and coaching that emphasize skills for improving attention to present-moment experience. Helping participants redirect attention away from unhelpful mental ruminations by strengthening mindfulness and task absorption. Training present-moment awareness to interrupt the cognitive processes that maintain RNT by cultivating absorption in direct sensory experience.

ALL; Be Kind + Be Present; Be Present; Be Specific + Be Kind + Be Present; Be Specific + Be Present; Break Habit + Be Kind + Be Present; Break Habit + Be Present; Break Habit + Be Specific+ Be Present

Break Habit BEHAVIORAL

Digital therapy lessons and coaching that emphasize skills for disrupting repetitive negative thinking as a habitual mental behavior. Helping participants identify early warning signs, use stimulus-control strategies, form implementation intentions, and practice alternative responses to build more adaptive habits. Training new behavioral and cognitive routines to replace automatic RNT patterns.

ALL; Break Habit; Break Habit + Be Kind; Break Habit + Be Kind + Be Present; Break Habit + Be Present; Break Habit + Be Specific; Break Habit + Be Specific + Be Kind; Break Habit + Be Specific+ Be Present

Psychoeducation BEHAVIORAL

Digital therapy lessons and coaching that provide foundational information about repetitive negative thinking and why it occurs. Helping participants understand explanations for their symptoms and difficulties, which reduces the search for understanding, insight and certainty shown to drive RNT, and normalizes their experiences. This corresponds with the RF-CBT components of individualized rationale, psychoeducation, empathy and understanding.

ALL; Be Kind; Be Kind + Be Present; Be Present; Be Specific; Be Specific + Be Kind; Be Specific + Be Kind + Be Present; Be Specific + Be Present; Break Habit; Break Habit + Be Kind; Break Habit + Be Kind + Be Present; Break Habit + Be Present; Break Habit + Be Specific; Break Habit + Be Specific + Be Kind; Break Habit + Be Specific+ Be Present; Psychoeducation Only

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Aged 18+ years
• Able to provide a valid Imperial Valley College email address
• Access to a suitable smartphone/device (iPhone 8+ running iOS 16.4 or higher, or Android version 8 or higher)
• Access to internet
• Elevated repetitive negative thought (RNT) based on scores from Ruminative Response Scale Brood subscale (RSS-brood) and Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ)

You may not qualify if:

• Concurrent psychotherapy
• Self-reported current or past diagnosis or treatment for Psychosis
• Self-reported current or past diagnosis or treatment for Bipolar disorder
• Self-reported current or past diagnosis or currently receiving, or waiting to receive, treatment for substance abuse/dependence
• Self-reported current diagnosis or currently receiving, or waiting to receive, treatment for alcohol abuse/dependence
• Antidepressant/anxiolytic medication that has changed in dose or nature in last 6 weeks
• Current severe PTSD defined as measured by the adapted International Trauma Questionnaire
• Active suicidal thoughts or self-harm

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of California, Los Angeles: lead
• University of Exeter: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Imperial Valley College

Imperial, California, 92251, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Psychological Well-Being

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Personal Satisfaction

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: TRIPLE
• Who Masked: PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: FACTORIAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Distinguished Professor, UCLA Department of Psychology and Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences

Model Details: Participants will be randomized in a factorial design to one of 16 conditions for treatment, each consisting of 1-5 treatment components from Rumination-Focused CBT (RF-CBT). All participants will be exposed to a default core common content (e.g. psychoeducation about RNT and CBT approaches to coping) such that all participants receive a minimal-level intervention.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: May 3, 2026
• First Posted: May 11, 2026
• Study Start: June 8, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 14, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 14, 2028
• Last Updated: May 11, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-05

Locations

US (1)