ClinicalTrials.gg
RecruitingNCT07513662HEADS-UPUpdated Nov 5, 2026

Headache Education and Awareness vs. Daily Mindfulness Strategies - Understanding Pain

An interventional study of BREATHE with Headache (BREATHE-HA) and Enhanced Standard-of-Care: Headache Education in Migraine and Migraine in Adolescence, sponsored by University of Colorado, Denver. Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 12 Years to 17 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-11-05.

Sponsored by University of Colorado, Denver · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment

Updated Nov 5, 2026Now RecruitingSite recruiting status changed+1 moreGo to Updates ↓
Phase
Not applicable
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
72
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
12 Years to 17 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

The goal of this study (supported by and included in the NIH HEAL Initiative: https://heal.nih.gov/) is to learn if a fully virtual study comparing two telehealth group interventions for adolescents with migraine is feasible and acceptable:

  1. Telehealth group mindfulness-based intervention
  2. Telehealth group headache education
Read the detailed description

Mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) shows promise in adults with migraine, but research is limited in adolescents. The current study aims to advance behavioral treatments for adolescents with frequent migraine by examining an MBI that was adapted specifically for adolescents with migraine. This a pilot randomized controlled trial is designed to test feasibility and acceptability in preparation for a future efficacy trial. Adolescents with migraine will be randomized to one of two 6-week telehealth group programs: a mindfulness-based intervention (BREATHE-Headache) or Enhanced Standard-of-Care (a headache education program). Participants (and their parent/guardian) will complete assessments at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 12-week follow up.

02

Conditions studied

  • Migraine
  • Migraine in Adolescence

Keywords

  • Adolescent
  • Mindfulness
  • Mindfulness Intervention
  • Migraine
  • Headache
  • Headache Education
  • Randomized controlled trial
03

In context

Migraine Disorders

1,657 studies on the registry are indexed under Migraine Disorders; 339 are open to participants now.

This study's planned enrollment of 72 is close to the median of 80 across 1,269 interventional studies indexed under Migraine Disorders.

Browse Migraine Disorders studies →

Lead sponsor

University of Colorado, Denver is the lead sponsor of 1,543 studies on the registry; 317 are open to participants now.

Of its 147 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 92 (63%) have results posted.

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

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
12 Years to 17 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

  • Age 12 to 17 years old
  • Diagnosed with migraine by medical provider using criteria from the International Classification of Headache Disorders, Third Edition
  • Patient report of at least 6 headache days per month
  • At least mild headache-related disability, as assessed by PedMIDAS score > 10
  • Stable dose (≥4 weeks) of prophylactic migraine medication or no current prophylactic medication at enrollment
  • Adolescent participant fluent in English for the intervention content

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Currently engaged in, or previously received 4 or more sessions of behavioral interventions for pain management (e.g., mindfulness or cognitive-behavioral therapy) in the past 6 months
  • Current psychiatric crisis (e.g., active suicidal ideation)
  • Cognitive impairments or developmental delays that interfere with their ability to participate in the study
  • Inability to provide consent/assent
05

Study design

Phase
Not applicable
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single (Outcomes assessor)
Enrollment
72 participants (estimated)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    BREATHE with Headache (BREATHE-HA)

    Mindfulness-based intervention adapted for adolescents with migraine, delivered as a telehealth group program

    Behavioral: BREATHE with Headache (BREATHE-HA)

  • Active comparator
    Enhanced Standard-of-Care: Headache Education

    Headache education, delivered as a telehealth group program

    Behavioral: Enhanced Standard-of-Care: Headache Education

Interventions

  • BehavioralBREATHE with Headache (BREATHE-HA)

    BREATHE-HA is a 6-session group mindfulness-based intervention delivered via telehealth for adolescents with migraine. The intervention was adapted from an empirically-supported mindfulness-based intervention for adolescents (Learning to BREATHE; Broderick, 2021). Example activities include breath awareness, body scanning, mindful eating, loving-kindness practice, and mindful movement, as well as activities and discussion focused on improving distress tolerance and enhancing self-care, with examples related to living with migraine.

  • BehavioralEnhanced Standard-of-Care: Headache Education

    Enhanced Standard-of-Care is a 6-session group headache education program delivered via telehealth. It will be derived from a manual with fidelity as an attention-matched control in a behavioral trial for pediatric migraine. Headache education will include didactics and discussion on headache symptoms, medication, lifestyle factors for pain management, communication with providers, education on mood/stress, and impact of headaches on school and family.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Recruitment Feasibility (Primary)

    ≥ 80% of adolescents screened eligible will agree to participate

    Time frame: 24 months

Secondary outcomes

  1. Recruitment Feasibility (Secondary)

    Recruit N=72; mean n=6 enrolled per month

    Time frame: 24 months

  2. Retention (Secondary)

    ≥ 80% retained at post-intervention follow-up and 12-week follow-up

    Time frame: Post-intervention (1 week after final intervention session); 12-week follow-up

  3. Intervention Adherence (Secondary)

    \>80% of adolescents will attend 5 out of 6 (80% dose) of the intervention sessions

    Time frame: 6 weeks

  4. Acceptability (Secondary)

    ≥80% adolescent liking/credibility ratings ≥4 (1=not at all to 5=extremely) on the adapted Program Acceptability Questionnaire; qualitative themes indicative of liking/credibility, as derived from grounded theory/qualitative analysis of adolescent focus groups at post-intervention

    Time frame: Post-intervention (1 week after final intervention session)

  5. Protocol Feasibility (Secondary)

    ≤10% missing daily log data and 0% missing entire questionnaires at all time points

    Time frame: Baseline, post-intervention (1 week after final intervention session), 12-week follow-up

  6. Intervention Fidelity (Secondary)

    \>95% interventionist adherence to content delivery based on fidelity checklists

    Time frame: 6 weeks

07

Study locations

1 of 1 sites recruiting
08

References and documents

Publications

  • Broderick, P. C. (2021). Learning to breathe: A mindfulness curriculum for adolescents to cultivate emotion regulation, attention, and performance. New Harbinger Publications.

Individual participant data

Plan to share: Undecided

09

Timeline

1 registry update since Sep 25, 2026
ElapsedEstimatedEstimated, not yet reachedDate before it movedWhere the date was before it movedSimilar 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

Start is estimated for Nov 2026; primary completion for Aug 2028, 21 months later.

Of 309 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Migraine Disorders, half reached primary completion within 17 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 8 and three quarters within 36. This study's planned 21 months is above that.

Counting every sponsor, half of 358 studies reached it within 15 months; a quarter within 7 and three quarters within 34.

Start moved once since we started tracking on Sep 25, 2026: Oct 2026 → Nov 2026, on Nov 5, 2026.

Earlier changes are on the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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

Registered
Mar 19, 2026
First posted
Apr 7, 2026
StartEst.
Nov 10, 2026was Oct 2026
Primary completionEst.
Aug 2028
CompletionEst.
Dec 2028
Last update
Nov 5, 2026
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.
Status
Not yet recruiting→Recruiting
changed Nov 5, 2026
Sites
Children's Hospital Colorado is now Recruiting
Nov 5, 2026
Start date
Oct 2026→Nov 10, 2026
Nov 5, 2026
Show all 1 update
  1. Nov 5, 2026
    Not yet recruiting→Recruiting
    Children's Hospital Colorado is now Recruiting
    Start date Oct 2026→Nov 10, 2026
    + 1 other change: verification date

From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT07513662
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Apr 7, 2026
Start date
Nov 10, 2026 (estimated)
Primary completion
Aug 2028 (estimated)
Completion
Dec 2028 (estimated)
Last update
Nov 5, 2026

Study contacts

Michelle A Clementi, Ph.D.
Contact
michelle.clementi@childrenscolorado.org
720-777-7487
Arlet Campuzano, B.S.
Contact
arlet.campuzano@childrenscolorado.org
Michelle A Clementi, Ph.D.
principal investigator · University of Colorado, Denver

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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