Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (talking therapy) for Alzheimer's Carers

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for carers of patients with Alzheimer's disease: a randomised controlled trial

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN77610095

Enrollment

Registered

2008-04-04

Start date

2008-07-01

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2015-01-13

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

Conditions

Psychological distress in Alzheimer's carers Mental and Behavioural Disorders Psychological distress

Interventions

The treatment group will receive between 10 - 12 sessions of weekly CBT over a three-month period. The sessions will last for 50 minutes each, they will see the same therapist every week. Participant

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Primary carer of an individual with Alzheimer's disease 2. Willing to engage actively in 10 - 12 weekly therapy sessions, over a three month period 3. Willing to complete self report questionnaires before treatment starts, at three months and six months after entering the study 4. Aged 18 - 90 years, either sex

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Carers not fluent in English (due to nature of the treatment) 2. Evidence of cognitive impairment, assessed as a Mini-Mental State Examination score of less than 26/30 3. Currently prescribed certain psychotropic medication, i.e., antipsychotics, mood stabilisers, hypnotics and sedatives. Those receiving antidepressants will not be excluded 4. The person they care for with Alzheimer's disease is under 65 (pre-senile dementia)

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
12 sessions of CBT will significantly reduce the Geriatric Depression Scale scores in carers of patients with Alzheimer's disease, in comparison with a group receiving treatment as usual. For the Geriatric Depression Rating Scale (GDS) an improvement of a score out of 15 will be measured, where a score greater than 5 indicates probable depression. These measures will be taken in all participants (treatment and control groups), prior to start of treatment, after 3/12 and again after 6/12 of start of treatment, thus T0, T3 and T6. These scores will then be compared to detect within participant and between group differences at three different time points.	—

Measure

Time frame

12 sessions of CBT will significantly reduce the Geriatric Depression Scale scores in carers of patients with Alzheimer's disease, in comparison with a group receiving treatment as usual. For the Geriatric Depression Rating Scale (GDS) an improvement of a score out of 15 will be measured, where a score greater than 5 indicates probable depression. These measures will be taken in all participants (treatment and control groups), prior to start of treatment, after 3/12 and again after 6/12 of start of treatment, thus T0, T3 and T6. These scores will then be compared to detect within participant and between group differences at three different time points.

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Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. 12 sessions of CBT will significantly reduce the Carer Strain Index scores in carers of patients with Alzheimer's disease, in comparison with a group receiving treatment as usual. For the Carer Strain Index score (CSI) an improvement of a score out of 12 will be measured, where a score greater than 7 indicates a high level of strain. 2. 12 sessions of CBT will significantly reduce the Carer Burden Inventory scores in carers of patients with Alzheimer's disease, in comparison with a group receiving treatment as usual. For the Carer Burden Inventory score (CBI) an improvement of a score out of 88 will be measured, where a score between 61 - 88 indicates severe burden, 41 - 60 moderate to severe burden, 21 - 40 mild to moderate burden and 0 - 20 indicates little or no burden. These measures will be taken in all participants (treatment and control groups), prior to start of treatment, after 3/12 and again after 6/12 of start of treatment, thus T0, T3 and T6. These scores will then be compared to detect within participant and between group differences at three different time points.	—

Measure

Time frame

1. 12 sessions of CBT will significantly reduce the Carer Strain Index scores in carers of patients with Alzheimer's disease, in comparison with a group receiving treatment as usual. For the Carer Strain Index score (CSI) an improvement of a score out of 12 will be measured, where a score greater than 7 indicates a high level of strain. 2. 12 sessions of CBT will significantly reduce the Carer Burden Inventory scores in carers of patients with Alzheimer's disease, in comparison with a group receiving treatment as usual. For the Carer Burden Inventory score (CBI) an improvement of a score out of 88 will be measured, where a score between 61 - 88 indicates severe burden, 41 - 60 moderate to severe burden, 21 - 40 mild to moderate burden and 0 - 20 indicates little or no burden. These measures will be taken in all participants (treatment and control groups), prior to start of treatment, after 3/12 and again after 6/12 of start of treatment, thus T0, T3 and T6. These scores will then be compared to detect within participant and between group differences at three different time points.

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Countries

United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

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