None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This study aims to evaluate the effect of a psychological treatment program on anxiety and depression in adults who are carers for persons with dementia-related conditions. Any carer who is experiencing distress and is looking after family members or relatives (including partners and parents) with dementia-related conditions may be eligible for this study. Who is this study for? You can join this study if you are aged 18 to 80 years and are caring for a family member or relative who has a dementia-related condition (e.g., Alzheimer’s). You must also be experiencing at least mild to moderate levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms for which you may or may not be taking medication. Trial details: Participants in this trial will be randomly (by chance) assigned to one of two groups. Participants in one group will undertake a psychological therapy program, titled the ‘Behavioural and Acceptance Based Therapy (BABT)’ program. This involves attending six consecutive weekly meetings of 1.5 hours each with a psychologist, followed by two follow-up sessions at fortnightly intervals. Participants in the other group will receive no psychological treatment for 12 weeks, after which time they will be offered the BABT program. Participants in both groups will be asked to complete questionnaires at 4 time-points throughout the study to assess whether the program is effective in helping them to reduce their distress and improve their overall quality of life.
Interventions
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the psychological therapy program, titled the ‘Behavioural and Acceptance Based Therapy (BABT)’ program is useful in helping individuals in a caregiving role, reduce their distress (including anxiety and depressive symptoms), as well as improve their overall quality of life.
The BABT intervention will be conducted by qualified psychologists in an individual face-to-face format and will consist of six consecutive weekly meetings, 1.5 hours eac
The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the psychological therapy program, titled the ‘Behavioural and Acceptance Based Therapy (BABT)’ program is useful in helping individuals in a caregiving role, reduce their distress (including anxiety and depressive symptoms), as well as improve their overall quality of life. The BABT intervention will be conducted by qualified psychologists in an individual face-to-face format and will consist of six consecutive weekly meetings, 1.5 hours each, plus two follow-up/booster sessions conducted at fortnightly intervals. Hence, the BABT program comprises a total of 8 sessions conducted over a 10 week period. The BABT components will be administered in a standardized format to all participants. In particular, the BABT program will comprise the following components: (1) education about the common reactions to caring for a partner (or parent) with dementia; (2) acceptance and mindfulness based strategies to promote awareness and acceptance of internal sensations; (3) learning to deal with uncertainty; (4) behavioural/ experiential exercises to curtail avoidance reactions; and (5) re-evaluating and re-connecting with life-goals and values, as well as learning to engage/commit to pursuing valued activities.
Sponsors
Macquarie University
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to 80 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1) reporting at least moderate (sub-clinical or clinical) levels of anxiety and/or depressive symptoms; 2) CG for a person diagnosed with a dementia-related condition; 3) care recipient has a minimum of at least 12-month prognosis; 4) aged 18 to 80 years; 5) able to speak, read and write basic English; and 6) medically fit to respond to the assessment and intervention procedures.
Exclusion criteria
(1) Presence of severe cognitive and language deficits for CGs (defined as score < 1.96 SD below mean) that will be assessed via a brief screening neuropsychological assessment battery (see measures); (2) current or prior history of significant alcohol/ drug abuse or psychosis; (3) current suicidal ideation; and (4) currently undergoing psychiatric treatment for mental illness.
Outcome results
None listed