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CompletedNCT03286881PsycBriefUpdated Apr 29, 2021

Brief Evidence-based Psychological Treatments for Emotional Disorders

An interventional study of Brief individual psychotherapy and Brief group psychotherapy in Anxiety Disorders, Depression and Somatoform Disorders, sponsored by Universidad de Córdoba. Completed at 1 site in Spain. Open to participants aged 18 Years to 65 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2021-04-29.

Sponsored by Universidad de Córdoba · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

From the registry’s dates

  • Registered 7 months after the study started (first participant enrolled Jan 2017, registered Sep 2017).
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
129
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years to 65 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The present work aims to develop a randomized clinical trial with a sample of 165 patients diagnosed with an emotional disorder. All participants are tested by several self-reports related to common mental disorders in a repeated measures design, pre and post treatment as well as a six month follow up. We think this study will demonstrate that brief psychological treatments should be prioritized over pharmacological treatment for such pathologies in the Primary or Secondary Care context to improve the patient´s quality of life while simultaneously reducing costs.

Read the detailed description

Nowadays, the heavy demands placed on health systems exceed the resources in many developed countries. So-called "common mental disorders" and their mostly pharmacological treatment are, in no small part, responsible for this situation. The cost that these disorders generate to the public health service is very high and they are usually associated with other issues like hyperfrequentation and side effects. However, research indicates that psychological treatment should be the first step when caring for these types of problems. We expect that the results show that extensive psychological therapy and combined treatment were the most effective. Nevertheless, brief psychological treatment is expected to be the most efficient in cost-benefit terms.

02

Conditions studied

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Depression
  • Somatoform Disorders
  • Common Mental Disorders

Keywords

  • Common Mental Disorders
  • Brief Psychological Treatments
  • Primary Care
  • Randomized Clinical Trial
03

In context

Anxiety Disorders

7,201 studies on the registry are indexed under Anxiety Disorders; 1,682 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 129 is above the median of 80 across 6,057 interventional studies indexed under Anxiety Disorders.

Browse Anxiety Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

Universidad de Córdoba is the lead sponsor of 17 studies on the registry; 5 are open to participants now.

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

04

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

  • Emotional disorders

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe mental disorder
  • Drug abuse
  • Severe depression
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Double (Care provider, Investigator)
Enrollment
129 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    Group 1

    Other: Brief individual psychotherapy

  • Experimental
    Group 2

    Other: Brief group psychotherapy

  • Experimental
    Group 3

    Other: Combined intervention

  • Experimental
    Group 4

    Other: Minimum psychological intervention

  • Active comparator
    Group 5

    Other: Usual treatment

Interventions

  • OtherBrief individual psychotherapy

    Individual brief psychological intervention by adaptation of the Guide NICE "Common Mental Health Disorders" (ISBN 978-1-84936-585-7) and the unified protocol for the trasndiagnostic treatment of the emotional disorders of Barlow (Boisseau, Farchione, Fairholme, Ellard, y Barlow, 2010). This intervention is provided by clinical psychologist in secondary care.

  • OtherBrief group psychotherapy

    Group brief psychological intervention by adaptation of the Guide NICE "Common Mental Health Disorders" (ISBN 978-1-84936-585-7) and the unified protocol for the trasndiagnostic treatment of the emotional disorders of Barlow (Boisseau, Farchione, Fairholme, Ellard, y Barlow, 2010). This intervention is provided by clinical psychologist in primary care.

  • OtherCombined intervention

    Traditional psychotherapy and medication provided by a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist in secondary care.

  • OtherMinimum psychological intervention

    Psychoeducation and bibliotherapy provided by a trained general practitioner in primary care.

  • OtherUsual treatment

    Medication provided by a general practitioner.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Generalised Anxiety Disorder Assessment (GAD-7)

    The GAD-7 score is calculated by assigning scores of 0, 1, 2, and 3, to the response categories of 'not at all', 'several days', 'more than half the days', and 'nearly every day', respectively, and adding together the scores for the seven questions. Scores of 5, 10, and 15 are taken as the cut-off points for mild, moderate and severe anxiety, respectively. When used as a screening tool, further evaluation is recommended when the score is 10 or greater. Using the threshold score of 10, the GAD-7 has a sensitivity of 89% and a specificity of 82% for GAD.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  2. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI)

    The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) is a commonly used measure of trait and state anxiety (Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, \& Jacobs, 1983). It can be used in clinical settings to diagnose anxiety and to distinguish it from depressive syndromes. It also is often used in research as an indicator of caregiver distress AnxietyForm Y, its most popular version, has 20 items for assessing trait anxiety and 20 for state anxiety. All items are rated on a 4-point scale (e.g., from "Almost Never" to "Almost Always"). Higher scores indicate greater anxiety. The STAI is appropriate for those who have at least a sixth-grade reading level. Internal consistency coefficients for the scale have ranged from .86 to .95; test-retest reliability coefficients have ranged from .65 to .75 over a 2-month interval (Spielberger et al., 1983).

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  3. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)

    The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a self-administered version of the PRIME-MD diagnostic instrument for common mental disorders.The PHQ-9 is the depression module, which scores each of the 9 DSM-IV criteria as "0" (not at all) to "3" (nearly every day).

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  4. Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-II)

    The BDI-II is a widely used 21-item self-report inventory measuring the severity of depression in adolescents and adults. The BDI-II was revised in 1996 to be more consistent with DSM-IV criteria for depression. For example, individuals are asked to respond to each question based on a two-week time period rather than the one-week timeframe on the BDI. The BDI-II is widely used as an indicator of the severity of depression, but not as a diagnostic tool, and numerous studies provide evidence for its reliability and validity across different populations and cultural groups.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  5. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-15)

    The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a self-administered version of the PRIME-MD diagnostic instrument for common mental disorders.The PHQ-15 is the somatization module, which scores each DSM-IV criteria as "0" (not bothered at all) to "2" (bothered a lot).

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  6. The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-PD)

    The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) is a self-administered version of the PRIME-MD diagnostic instrument for common mental disorders.The PHQ-PD is the panic disorder module, which scores each DSM-IV criteria as "yes" or "no".

    Time frame: 12 weeks

  7. Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18)

    The BSI-18 contains the three six-item scales somatization, depression, and anxiety as well as the Global Severity Index (GSI), including all 18 items. The BSI-18 is the latest and shortest of the multidimensional versions of the Symptom-Checklist 90-R.

    Time frame: 12 weeks

07

Study locations

1 site
  • Universidad de Córdoba
    Cordoba, Córdoba 14071, Spain
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Galvez-Lara M, Corpas J, Vencesla JF, Moriana JA. Evidence-Based Brief Psychological Treatment for Emotional Disorders in Primary and Specialized Care: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial. Front Psychol. 2019 Jan 8;9:2674. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02674. eCollection 2018. PubMed 30671005 ↗
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Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedSimilar studies: half by the dot; the band is the middle halfHalf of similar studies reached it by the dot; the band is the middle half, from a quarter to three quarters

Ran from Jan 2017 to primary completion in Apr 2018, 15 months.

Of 3,836 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Anxiety Disorders, half reached primary completion within 12 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 28. This study's 15 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 3,938 studies reached it within 12 months; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 28.

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

Registered
Sep 12, 2017
First posted
Sep 19, 2017
StartActual
Jan 15, 2017
Primary completionActual
Apr 15, 2018
CompletionActual
Jan 15, 2021
Last update
Apr 29, 2021
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 Apr 29, 2021, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03286881
Lead sponsor
Universidad de Córdoba
Collaborators
Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spain
Responsible party
Jorge Corpas López (Investigator, Universidad de Córdoba) — Principal investigator
First posted
Sep 19, 2017
Start date
Jan 15, 2017
Primary completion
Apr 15, 2018
Completion
Jan 15, 2021
Last update
Apr 29, 2021

Study contacts

Juan Antonio Moriana E
study director · Universidad de Cordoba

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Apr 2021. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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