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CompletedNCT01816204TAO-anxietyUpdated Aug 31, 2016

Therapist Assisted Online Treatment for Anxiety

An interventional study of Therapist assisted online treatment and face-to-face individual therapy in Anxiety Disorders, sponsored by University of Florida. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 35 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2016-08-31.

Sponsored by University of Florida · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
300
Allocation
Non-randomized
Ages
18 Years to 35 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Therapist assisted, internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (TAI-CBT) has been shown to be effective with patients who have Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) in multiple studies from several countries, including: the United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden, and the Netherlands. Despite strong evidence of efficacy, TAI-CBT has not been offered in the USA. TAI-CBT could provide an effective alternative to face-to-face psychotherapy that would expand the availability and convenience of evidence- based treatment anywhere clinical availability is limited. The University of Florida (UF) has historically had greater demand for psychotherapy than the available supply of psychotherapy hours resulting in waiting lists for students needing to receive treatment for anxiety. Anxiety disorders interfere with memory and concentration thus impairing academic functioning. Students who must wait for treatment for 3-4 weeks are at risk for failing courses or dropping out of school. If TAI-CBT proved to be effective with UF students, providing it could increase the number of students who would receive effective and timely treatment. This project will create a 6-8 session therapist assisted on-line treatment for anxiety disorder. The investigators will offer TAI-CBT as an experimental treatment in summer and fall, 2013 comparing outcomes to face-to-face individual therapy, group therapy, and wait-list controls. The investigators hypothesize that students receiving TAI-CBT will have a reduction in anxiety symptoms comparable to face-to-face counseling and greater than wait list controls.

Read the detailed description

Participation is restricted to currently enrolled students at the University of Florida who have paid the health fee, and who are seeking treatment for anxiety and the Counseling and Wellness Center. Students who meet criteria and agree to participate will select from two treatments, individual face-to-face or therapist assisted on-line treatment. Prior to each session of individual therapy, or on-line treatment participants will complete the Behavioral Health Measure-20 is a normal part of treatment at the CWC.

If a participant is assigned to the Therapist-assisted on-line (TAO) treatment he/she will be asked to complete a seven module on-line treatment. Each module includes interactive, educational materials and weekly assignments. Subjects may participate in an on-line discussion forum with other participants for each module. The forum will use only first names or a pseudonym to protect confidentiality. In addition, participants in the TAO treatment will receive a 10-20 minute video-conference weekly with a doctoral level therapist. Therapists will review assignments, answer questions, and help to apply the educational materials contained in the modules to the subjects life.

The video conference will be on Adobe Connect. This involves a free download for a computer, tablet, or smart phone. Medical records will be kept for ten years, per UF policy. Adobe connect is HIPAA and HITECH compliant. Research records will be de-identified and use an identifier number that cannot be connected to individual participants.

Only 2 arms were actually used, Face-to-face therapy and TAO treatment.

02

Conditions studied

  • Anxiety Disorders

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Keywords

  • anxiety treatment
  • anxiety online treatment
  • anxiety electronic treatment
  • anxiety therapist assisted
03

In context

Anxiety Disorders

4,874 studies on the registry are indexed under Anxiety Disorders; 1,394 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 300 is above the median of 80 across 4,180 interventional studies indexed under Anxiety Disorders.

Browse Anxiety Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Florida is the lead sponsor of 1,254 studies on the registry; 201 are open to participants now.

Of its 170 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 136 (80%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years to 35 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

  • students,
  • mild to moderate anxiety,
  • has appropriate computer equipment

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe depression or anxiety,
  • suicidal in past 12 months,
  • not stable on medications for at least 30 days prior to beginning study treatments
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Non-randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
None (open label)
Enrollment
300 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Therapist assisted online treatment (TAO)

    Students assigned to treatment with weekly online modules and weekly 10-15 minute video conference with counselor.

    Behavioral: Therapist assisted online treatment

  • Active comparator
    face-to-face individual therapy

    weekly individual 50 minute psychotherapy sessions.

    Behavioral: face-to-face individual therapy

Interventions

  • BehavioralTherapist assisted online treatment

    7 weekly interactive online modules with 10-15 minute counselor consultation via video conference.

  • Behavioralface-to-face individual therapy

    weekly individual counseling as usual.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Behavioral Health Measure-20 (BHM-20)

    twenty item likert-type measure of distress, well-being, overall mental health functioning.

    Time frame: The three measures will be administered weekly from initial enrollment in the study for 7 weeks and again at 6 month follow up. The first assessment of patients will begin May 7 and will continue through January, 2014.

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Counseling and Wellness Center, University of Florida
    Gainesville, Florida 32611-2662, United States
08

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Aug 31, 2016, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
09

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01816204
Lead sponsor
University of Florida
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Mar 22, 2013
Start date
Jul 2013
Primary completion
Sep 2014
Completion
Sep 2014
Last update
Aug 31, 2016

Study contacts

Sherry A Benton, Ph.D.
principal investigator · University of Florida

Oversight

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

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2015. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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