Mental health distress Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Conditions
Interventions
The study will be conducted at the national youth mental health outreach and assessment service (CHAT, Centre of Excellence for Youth Mental Health).
Solution Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT) is a low-in
that one does not need to know what caused a problem (e.g., via comprehensive clinical assessment) to begin solving it
and that the client is expert in their life and best-positioned to address their problems (de Shazer, 1985). The purpose of the present study’s larger-scale randomized, placebo-controlled trial is to
Sponsors
Institute of Mental Health
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: All study participants must meet the criteria below: 1. 16-30 years old 2. English-speaking and English-literate 3. Non-specific mental distress (Clinical Stage 1a), subsyndromal or subthreshold symptoms (Clinical Stage 1b), or are experiencing a first episode of a full defined syndrome (Clinical Stage 2) based on CHAT assessment Additional criteria for participants in the intervention arm: 1. Committed to attend all six intervention sessions, weekly (either through face-to-face or teleconferencing), to be completed in 8 weeks 2. Willingness to be registered as a client with the Institute of Mental Health Singapore (so that therapy can be provided, as per IMH protocol)
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: All subjects meeting any of the exclusion criteria at baseline will be excluded from participation. Subjects who: 1. Have high suicidal risk (as determined by Columbia Suicide Safety Rating Scale, during CHAT assessment) 2. Have active and florid psychosis symptoms 3. Have significant cognitive impairments 4. Are participating in other active psychotherapy or psychiatric medication treatment 5. Are below 21 years old and do not have parental consent to participate in the study 6. Decline to be registered as a client at IMH (if they have been randomised to the intervention arm)
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Psychological distress measured by the Kessler-10 (K-10) from baseline to 2 weeks post-termination (T3) | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| 1. Depression symptoms measured using Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) at baseline, 2 weeks post-termination, 3 months post-termination 2. Anxiety symptoms measured using Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) at baseline, 2 weeks post-termination, 3 months post-termination 3. Clinical functioning measured using World Health Organization (WHO) Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS) at baseline, 2 weeks post-termination, 3 months post-termination 4. Hopelessness measured using Beck Hopelessness Scale-4 at baseline, at termination, 3 months post-termination 5. Perceived self-efficacy measured using the General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSE) at baseline, at termination, 3 months post-termination 6. Satisfaction measured using Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (adapted CSQ8) at termination 7. Treatment progress measured using the Outcome Rating Scale (ORS) at the start of each SFBT session 8. Treatment alliance measured using Session Rating Scale (SRS) at the start of each SFBT session | — |
Countries
Singapore
Contacts
Public ContactTianyi Hui
Outcome results
None listed