ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT00657631ACTUpdated Oct 12, 2009

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Delusions

An interventional study of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in Schizophrenia and Delusional Disorder, sponsored by Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2009-10-12.

Sponsored by Weill Medical College of Cornell University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
4
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Symptoms of schizophrenia have historically been treatment resistant despite advances in psychopharmacology. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has been shown through some preliminary research to be effective with psychotic symptoms (Bach \& Hayes, 2002). ACT is considered part of the "third wave of CBT" along with Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993) and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT; Segal, Williams, \& Teasdale, 2001). The target of change in ACT is acceptance of symptoms as experiences that a person can have without experiencing distress, and while living a life in accordance with one's values.

The current study assessed the effectiveness of ACT (8 sessions) for delusions. Participants received treatment as usual throughout the study. The intervention followed the protocol of ACT described in Hayes, Strosahl and Wilson (1999) in which treatment will consist of building acceptance, willingness, and commitment to change, clarifying values, defusion of thoughts and feelings, as well as defusion of self. These therapeutic aims attempted to be achieved by the practice of various exercises in and out of session as well as the discussion of various metaphors within session. It was hypothesized that participants will exhibit decreased distress due to delusions, decreased delusional conviction and a reduction of overall anxiety levels from participants' baselines.

Read the detailed description

Four patients were recruited from New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Medical College, Payne Whitney Clinic (Manhattan Campus), outpatient psychiatric program. Patients were randomly assigned to a length of baseline before beginning the 8-week ACT treatment. There was be a five-week baseline period for all patients after which two patients will be introduced to ACT treatment in weekly increments. All patients received treatment as usual throughout baseline and ACT treatment. During baseline, patients were assessed by an independent rater every week and during ACT treatment, patients were assessed every other week and at a one-month follow-up. Each participant's assessment results were compared over time, so that there will be an established baseline level of functioning which will be compared to his or her level of functioning during treatment, at the end of treatment, and finally at the one-month follow-up. Hypotheses: It was hypothesized that patients' distress, anxiety and tension due to delusional thinking would decrease over time when comparing baseline to treatment, treatment to outcome, and then outcome to follow-up. Additionally, the number of delusional thoughts and the rate of re-hospitalization was hypothesized to decrease over time.

02

Conditions studied

  • Schizophrenia
  • Delusional Disorder

Keywords

  • Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
  • Delusions
03

In context

Schizophrenia

3,563 studies on the registry are indexed under Schizophrenia; 491 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 4 is below the median of 71 across 2,944 interventional studies indexed under Schizophrenia.

Browse Schizophrenia studies →

Lead sponsor

Weill Medical College of Cornell University is the lead sponsor of 892 studies on the registry; 165 are open to participants now.

Of its 123 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 94 (76%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 65 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Patients will be considered for inclusion in the study if they meet DSM IV diagnostic criteria for:

    • Schizophrenia
    • Schizoaffective disorder
    • Schizophreniform Disorder
    • Delusional Disorder
    • Brief Psychotic Disorder
    • Psychotic Disorder NOS with current delusions (assessed via chart review)

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Exclusion criteria include a current diagnosis of Mental Retardation
  • Organic psychosis
  • An inability to participant due to an acute medical condition
  • Substance abuse within the past month, a high level of disorganization
  • An inability to speak English
  • Lack the ability to give
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
Single (Investigator)
Enrollment
4 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    A

    Acceptance and Commitment Therapy will be administered to all subjects.

    Behavioral: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Interventions

  • BehavioralAcceptance and Commitment Therapy

    Considered part of the "third wave of CBT" along with Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993) and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT; Segal, Williams, \& Teasdale, 2001), ACT is built upon the strong, research-based foundation of CBT. However, while CBT for psychosis focuses on reducing symptoms, ACT focuses on changing the way in which the person experiences his or her symptoms so that the person can still live his or her life in accordance with his or her life values. Specifically, CBT attempts to reduce delusions by disputing the evidence for the delusion and ACT attempts to increase the person's ability to live his or her life while still experiencing delusions (Hayes, Strosahl \& Wilson, 1999).

    Also known as: ACT

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What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. This study will illustrate how patients' distress due to delusional thinking decreases over time when comparing baseline to treatment, treatment to outcome, and then outcome to follow-up.

    Time frame: 4-6 months

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Weill Cornell Medical College Oupatient Treatment Program of New York Presbyterian Hospital
    New York, New York 10065, United States
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Bach P, Hayes SC. The use of acceptance and commitment therapy to prevent the rehospitalization of psychotic patients: a randomized controlled trial. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2002 Oct;70(5):1129-39. doi: 10.1037//0022-006x.70.5.1129. PubMed 12362963 ↗
  • Linehan, M. M. (1993). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of borderline personality disorder. New York: Guilford Press.
  • Segal, Z. V., Williams, J. M. G., & Teasdale, J. T. (2001). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression: A new approach to preventing relapse. New York: Guilford Press.
  • Beck, A. T. (1976). Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders. New York: International Universities Press.
  • Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D. & Wilson, K. G. (1999). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: An experiential approach to behavior change. New York: The Guilford Press.
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Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Apr 2008, a primary completion of Jun 2009 and a completion of Jun 2009. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Apr 8, 2008
First posted
Apr 14, 2008
Start
Apr 2008
Primary completionActual
Jun 2009
CompletionActual
Jun 2009
Last update
Oct 12, 2009
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Oct 12, 2009, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00657631
First posted
Apr 14, 2008
Start date
Apr 2008
Primary completion
Jun 2009
Completion
Jun 2009
Last update
Oct 12, 2009

Study contacts

Yulia Landa, Psy.D.
principal investigator · Weill Medical College of Cornell University

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Oct 2009. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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