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Impact of IBSR on Postpartum Mothers' Mental Health.

Impact of Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) on Postpartum Mothers' Mental Health.

Status
Recruiting
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06490094
Enrollment
68
Registered
2024-07-08
Start date
2024-06-09
Completion date
2025-06-30
Last updated
2024-07-08

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

Conditions

Postpartum Mothers

Brief summary

The period of pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum phase significantly impacts the mental health of women and their families. Mental health is crucial for overall well-being, quality of life, and is associated with healthcare costs. Therefore, promoting mental health should be a top priority in public health and health promotion efforts. The Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) intervention, developed by Byron Katie (The Work), enables participants to identify and question the stressful thoughts that cause their suffering. The core of IBSR involves a contemplative inquiry process and a turnaround, which is a method of experiencing the opposite of what the participant believes. This process equips individuals with skills for self-inquiry and management of stressful thoughts that can be easily integrated into daily life. Based on previous research, we hypothesize that the IBSR intervention can improve postpartum mothers' mental health.

Detailed description

In recent years, there is growing evidence regarding the effectiveness of population-based mental health promotion interventions. Developing social and emotional skills such as improved self-esteem, sense of control and self-efficacy, self-acceptance, purpose in life, positive relationships with others, problem-solving, and coping skills has been shown to improve mental health and contribute to psychological well-being. According to the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE, 2021), interventions to promote mental health can be classified into eight priority areas. The first priority is to promote the mental health of infants and mothers by focusing on social and emotional development and positive mental health in early childhood development services, including prenatal care, home visits, and parenting programs. The healthcare system today faces the challenge of gaining a better understanding of the mechanisms that allow women to develop and maintain positive mental health in the postpartum period and understanding how these mechanisms are sustained over time. The Inquiry-Based Stress Reduction (IBSR) intervention, developed by Byron Katie (The Work), enables participants to identify and question the stressful thoughts that cause their suffering. The core of IBSR involves a contemplative inquiry process and a turnaround, which is a method of experiencing the opposite of what the participant believes. This process equips individuals with skills for self-inquiry and management of stressful thoughts that can be easily integrated into daily life. Based on previous research, we hypothesize that the IBSR intervention can improve postpartum mothers' mental health.

Interventions

The 8-week IBSR program is a clinical intervention based on The Work method, developed by Byron Katie and run in the US and Europe for 35 years. The IBSR intervention will involve weekly group meetings (3 hours/meeting) throughout 8 weeks. Home practice between sessions will be supported by facilitator assistants (1-hour session per week). All sessions will be standardized according to the IBSR certification program guidelines and will be assessed to maintain consistency in the program, as in previous studies. .

Sponsors

Tel Aviv University
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes

Inclusion criteria

* Mothers up to two years after giving birth, between the ages of 18 and 45 (at the time of birth), without a history of mental disorders or illnesses

Exclusion criteria

* Mothers with a history of illness or mental disorders * mothers who have passed more than two years since their last birth

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD-7)A measure assessing change between 3 time points (before the intervention, after 2 months (at the end of the intervention) and 1 months later)Questionnaire
Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)A measure assessing change between 3 time points (before the intervention, after 2 months (at the end of the intervention) and 1 months later)Questionnaire

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (2-item CD-RISC)A measure assessing change between 3 time points (before the intervention, after 2 months (at the end of the intervention) and 1 months later)Questionnaire
Ryff scale- Psychological well-being (PWB)A measure assessing change between 3 time points (before the intervention, after 2 months (at the end of the intervention) and 1 months later)Questionnaire
Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ)A measure assessing change between 3 time points (before the intervention, after 2 months (at the end of the intervention) and 1 months later)Questionnaire
Subjective well-being (WHO-5)A measure assessing change between 3 time points (before the intervention, after 2 months (at the end of the intervention) and 1 months later)Questionnaire
Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS)A measure assessing change between 3 time points (before the intervention, after 2 months (at the end of the intervention) and 1 months later)Questionnaire

Other

MeasureTime frameDescription
exposure to the events of the war in IsraelA measure assessing change between 3 time points (before the intervention, after 2 months (at the end of the intervention) and 1 months later)Questionnaire
Primary Care PTSD DSM-5A measure assessing change between 3 time points (before the intervention, after 2 months (at the end of the intervention) and 1 months later)Questionnaire
Demographic and Childhood historyA measure assessing change between 3 time points (before the intervention, after 2 months (at the end of the intervention) and 1 months later)Questionnaire

Countries

Israel

Contacts

Primary ContactShahar Lev- Ari, PhD
leva@tauex.tau.ac.il+972-3-6409040
Backup Contactshirly mor-anavy, MPH
shirlymor30@gmail.com+972-50-7652030

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026