Does paying attention to religious themes in therapy influence treatment outcomes?

The influence of attention to religion in psychological therapy in the short- and long-term on the change in psychological functioning, and the contribution of the possible mediating variables: cognitive schemes, the image of God, and therapeutic alliance and the possible moderating variable: structural personality traits

Status

Recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN22444109

Enrollment

Registered

2024-02-27

Start date

2010-09-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2024-03-11

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Mental disorders Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

The method of randomisation was per participating institution by order of enrollment. The first subject was assigned to the 'yes group' and the second to the 'no group', and so on. Patients are rand

(T1) 6 months after the start of treatment

and (T3) at follow-up 1.5 years after the start of treatment. Patients complete the following questionnaires: 1. Brief Symptom Inventory 2. Rand-36 3. Spiritual Well-Being Scale 4. Dutch Abbreviated

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Males and females ranging in age from 18 to 75 years 2. Apply for psychotherapy at the mental health institute that is involved in this study 3. Have been assigned to psychotherapy of 1 month to 12 months duration with approximately 5 to 40 sessions

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: Patients who consider themselves as non-religious, and patients with (a history of) psychosis

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Change in psychological functioning: 1. Self-reported clinical relevant psychological symptoms measured using the Brief Symptom Inventory 2. Overall well-being self-reported using Rand-36 3. Spiritual well-being self-reported using the Spiritual Well-Being Scale All measured at T0 before treatment; T1 6 months after the start of treatment; and T2 at follow-up 1.5 years after the start of treatment	—

Measure

Time frame

Change in psychological functioning: 1. Self-reported clinical relevant psychological symptoms measured using the Brief Symptom Inventory 2. Overall well-being self-reported using Rand-36 3. Spiritual well-being self-reported using the Spiritual Well-Being Scale All measured at T0 before treatment; T1 6 months after the start of treatment; and T2 at follow-up 1.5 years after the start of treatment

—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Changes in variables that could mediate or moderate changes in psychological functioning after psychotherapy: 1. Personality traits measured using the self-report Dutch Abbreviated MMPI (NVM) at T0 only 2. Self-reported maladaptive schemas that lead to unhealthy life patterns assessed using the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) at T0, T1 and T2 3. Feelings experienced in relation to God and how a person perceives God's actions, self-reported using Dutch VGB (God Image Questionnaire) at T0, T1 and T2 4. Evaluation of the collaborative relationship between the patient and therapist measured by the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) and completed by both the patient and therapist at T1 only	—

Measure

Time frame

Changes in variables that could mediate or moderate changes in psychological functioning after psychotherapy: 1. Personality traits measured using the self-report Dutch Abbreviated MMPI (NVM) at T0 only 2. Self-reported maladaptive schemas that lead to unhealthy life patterns assessed using the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) at T0, T1 and T2 3. Feelings experienced in relation to God and how a person perceives God's actions, self-reported using Dutch VGB (God Image Questionnaire) at T0, T1 and T2 4. Evaluation of the collaborative relationship between the patient and therapist measured by the Working Alliance Inventory (WAI) and completed by both the patient and therapist at T1 only

—

Countries

Netherlands

Contacts

Public ContactAnnette Bouwhuis

annettebouwhuis@hotmail.com+31 (0)612125528

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026