None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
The proposed study will involve implementing and testing Tuning Relationships with Music (TRM) at the Gippsland Centre Against Sexual Assault. TRM is an intervention that aims to help parents and adolescents (10 – 18 years) impacted by sexual and/or physical violence improve the quality of their relationship.. A pilot study (Colegrove et al., 2018) found that participation in Tuning Relationships with Music (TRM) led to significant reductions in parent-adolescent conflict and parent reactivity, and improved parental responsiveness. This study is a next step to evaluate how effective TRM is when used in the real-world setting. It is hypothesised that participation will lead to changes in parent responsiveness and reactivity, parent-adolescent health, and parent/adolescent mental health. It is also hypothesised that the study will advance knowledge about whether counsellors experience TRM as an acceptable and appropriate intervention for parents and adolescents impacted by sexual and/or physical abuse.
Interventions
There are two aspects of this research trial.
1. Tuning Relationships with Music (TRM) is a dyadic psychotherapy for parents and adolescents (10 - 18 years) affected by previous experiences of sexual or physical assault, who are experiencing high levels of conflict in their relationship. Dyads will complete 8 x 1 hour weekly sessions of therapy conducted face-to-face or online. Therapy involves talking and playing musical instruments to assist dyads to manage emotional reactivity, and learn new
There are two aspects of this research trial. 1. Tuning Relationships with Music (TRM) is a dyadic psychotherapy for parents and adolescents (10 - 18 years) affected by previous experiences of sexual or physical assault, who are experiencing high levels of conflict in their relationship. Dyads will complete 8 x 1 hour weekly sessions of therapy conducted face-to-face or online. Therapy involves talking and playing musical instruments to assist dyads to manage emotional reactivity, and learn new nonverbal as well as verbal patterns of interaction that characterise safe and respectful interaction about issues that may cause conflict. Materials: Dyads will be asked to complete online questionnaires pre and post intervention, and will be provided with psycho-educational materials. Psycho-educational materials were developed specifically for Tuning Relationships with Music, including adapted versions of handouts from the Tuning in to Teens (TINT) parenting course (Havighurst, Harley & Kehoe, 2019) and handouts developed by Dr Colegrove (Colegrove, 2019). These are available to professionals who attend training in TRM or TINT, and to families attending these programs. 2. Counsellors working at the Gippsland Centre Against Sexual Assault (GCASA) will be trained to deliver TRM by Dr Colegrove, a qualified family therapist with 22 years experience. Training is 24 hours in duration and will be offered over four days either at GCASA or via zoom. The training will include powerpoint presentations and experiential learning about how to deliver the therapy. Counsellors will then offer TRM to families either face-to-face or via telehealth. Face-to-face sessions will be offered at GCASA. For online sessions, dyads will attend from their home. All counsellors are fully qualified and experienced with working with children and parents who have experienced sexual and/or other forms of violence. Materials: Counsellors will be provided with an intervention manual which includes handouts to be given to families (see above). The intervention manual was written by Dr Colegrove prior to this study (Colegrove, 2019) and is available to professionals completing TRM training. Counsellors will be asked to complete questionnaires and a semi-structured interview about their experience of implementing TRM in their service. They will complete fidelity checklists to ensure adherence. They will attend supervision with Dr Colegrove for 1 hour fortnightly for the duration of the trial. Supervision will be offered to counsellors as a group, and will focus on discussing issues connected to the implementation of TRM with families. Adverse events: It is possible that completing assessment measures may cause distress for some parents and adolescents. Participants will be offered the opportunity to complete screening and baseline measures with the support of Dr Colegrove or their counsellor if they wish. They will also be given options for follow-up support with Dr Colegrove, their counsellor or referring worker, or given information about external options for support if they prefer this (e.g. Parentline, Kids’ Helpline).
Sponsors
University of Melbourne
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
10 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. Parents and adolescents (10 - 18 years) who have experienced sexual and/or physical violence, who are receiving counselling from the Gippsland Centre Against Sexual Assault. 2. Counsellors employed by the Gippsland Centre Against Sexual Assault.
Exclusion criteria
1. Parents and adolescents: Current exposure to or perpetration of sexual and/or physical violence including in the context of child custody disputes involving the adolescent participating in the study, homelessness, untreated psychosis, severe intellectual disability or acquired brain injury, profound hearing loss, inability to speak or understand English. 2. Counsellors: No exclusion criteria provided they are employed in a counselling role at GCASA..
Outcome results
None listed