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Individual Factors of CBT Underlying Success

Contributions of Self-Focused Attention to Early Warning Indicators of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Non-Response

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06678295
Acronym
I-FOCUS
Enrollment
160
Registered
2024-11-07
Start date
2024-10-15
Completion date
2028-09-30
Last updated
2026-02-17

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

Conditions

Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder

Keywords

Body Dysmorphic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Social Phobia, Self focused attention, fMRI, CBT, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, BDD, SAD, Neuroimaging

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to understand why some individuals respond fully to cognitive behavioral therapy and others do not, based on multiple sources of data such as neural, neurocognitive, clinical, and self-report data.

Detailed description

The investigators are conducting this research to evaluate the reliability and construct validity of measures of self-focused attention (SFA) across neural, neurocognitive, and self-report levels of analysis as well as examine whether early changes in the SFA biomarker are associated with CBT non-response. This will be looked at in a clinical population consisting of individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) compared to healthy volunteers. This study employs an open clinical trial for cognitive behavioral therapy with pre-, mid- and post-treatment neuroimaging scans, clinical interviews, neurocognitive, behavioral, and self-report assessments. Clinical participants will be invovled for 3.5 months and complete 12 CBT sessions and 4 fMRI scans. Control participants will not participate in CBT treatment and will complete 3 fMRI scans across a 3.5 month period. About 160 people will take part in this research study, all at the University of Washington (UW). This will include 110 clinical participants and 50 healthy control participants.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALCognitive Behavioral Therapy

Twelve weekly sessions of individual cognitive behavioral therapy

Sponsors

University of Washington
Lead SponsorOTHER
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
CollaboratorNIH

Study design

Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE

Eligibility

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

Inclusion criteria

Clinical sample (N=110): 1. Men and women, age 18-45 2. Treatment-seeking individuals who meet criteria for a primary DSM-5 diagnosis of primary social anxiety disorder (SAD) or body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) based on the SCID-5-RV 3. Fluent in English and willing to provide informed consent. Control sample (N=50): 1. Men and women, age 18-45 2. No current or lifetime history of psychiatric disorders, as assessed using the SCID-5-RV 3. Meet criteria for low levels of anxiety (GAD-7 score of \<8) and depression (PHQ-9 score \<10) 4. Fluent in English and willing to provide informed consent

Exclusion criteria

All groups: 1. Score \< 80 based on WRAT5 Word Reading Subtest 2. fMRI contraindications (e.g., electronic medical devices such as pacemakers, implanted defibrillators, etc.; metal implants not approved for MRI; pregnancy; claustrophobia) 2\. Active suicidal or homicidal ideation, or any features requiring a higher level of care 3. Lifetime history of manic or hypomanic episode, psychotic symptoms, traumatic brain injury, neurological disorder, pervasive developmental disorder, or attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder; active alcohol or substance use disorder in the past 6 months 4. Current use of psychotropic medications, except antidepressants taken at a stable dose for 3 months prior to study baseline 5. Previous CBT non-responder or current CBT

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Anxiety symptom severity, assessed by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 3, Week 6, Week 9, Post-treatmentGeneralized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) is a 7-item self-report measure of severe anxiety
Symptom severity associated with primary disorder, assessed by self-report versions of the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS SR).Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 3, Week 6, Week 9, Post-treatment. DSM5 Cross Cutting: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Post-treatmentTotal scores from the LSAS-SR will be used toward calculating a categorical measure of treatment response (e.g., Remitters, Partial Responders, or NonResponders). Scores will also be examined as a dimensional measure of symptom severity change during treatment based on the participant's primary disorder. Standardized change scores will be calculated based on the pretreatment score on the selected measure.
Symptom severity associated with primary disorder, assessed by self-report version of the Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale Modified for BDD (BDD-YBOCS SR).Across the span of 3 1/2 months: BDD-YBOCS: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 3, Week 6, Week 9, Post-treatment. DSM5 Cross Cutting: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Post-treatmentTotal scores from the BDD-YBOCS-SR will be used toward calculating a categorical measure of treatment response (e.g., Remitters, Partial Responders, or NonResponders). Scores will also be examined as a dimensional measure of symptom severity change during treatment based on the participant's primary disorder. Standardized change scores will be calculated based on the pretreatment score on the selected measure.
DSM5 Cross Cutting FormAcross the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 3, Week 6, Week 9, Post-treatment. DSM5 Cross Cutting: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Post-treatmentThe DSM-5 Cross Cutting Measure is a 24-item self-report measure that assesses symptom related problems over the past 2 weeks.
Trait SFA assessed by the Public Self-Consciousness Scale- Revised (SCS-R)Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 3, Week 6, Week 9, Post-treatmentParticipants will complete the 7-item self-report Public SCS-R measure to assess trait self-focused attention.
Functional connectivity between the Default Mode and Dorsal Attention Networks (DMN-DAN)Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 6, Post-treatmentParticipants will complete an MRI scan comprising both task and resting state fMRI to derive a measure of intrinsic functional connectivity between DMN and DAN using general functional connectivity.
Anxiety symptom severity, assessed by the Structured Interview Guide for Hamilton Anxiety Scale (SIGH-A) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 3, Week 6, Week 9, Post-treatmentThe SIGH-A is a 14-item clinician-rated assessment of past-week anxiety symptom severity. Scores on the SIGH-A (together with scores on the CGI-I) will be used to calculate a categorical measure of treatment response (e.g., Remitters, Partial Responders, or NonResponders). SIGH-A items will be adapted to accommodate anxiety symptoms in a transdiagnostic sample (e.g., accounting for specific disorder-relevant fears in item 3, such as fear of negative appearance evaluation in BDD). Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) is a 7-item self-report measure of severe anxiety

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Insight, as assessed by the Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale (BABS)Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 3, Week 6, Week 9, Post-treatmentThe BABS is a 7-item clinician-rated instrument of insight and delusionality designed to assess delusions across a wide range of disorders.
Disability, assessed by the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS)Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2 weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Post-treatmentThe WHODAS is a 12-item self-report measure of health-related difficulties
Homework compliance, assessed by a modified version of the Patient Exposure/Response Prevention Adherence Scale (PEAS)Weekly starting from Week 1 to Week 12The Modified PEAS is a therapist-rated measure of homework compliance for exposure and nonexposure-related homework
Disability, assessed by the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS).Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 6, Post-treatment.The SDS is a 5-item self-report measure of disability in work/school, social life, and family life.
Credibility and expectancies for treatment, assessed by the Credibility and Expectancies Questionnaire (CEQ)Week 3The CEQ is a 6-item self-report measure of patient's beliefs about the credibility of treatment and expectancies for treatment.
Trait rumination assessed by the Ruminative Responses Scale (RRS)Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 6, Post-treatmentParticipants will complete the 22-item self-report RRS measure to assess trait levels of rumination.
Trait worry assessed by the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ)Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 6, Post-treatmentParticipants will complete the 16-item self-report PSWQ measure to assess trait worry.
Reaction times during Self trials in Self-Other TaskAcross the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 6, Post-treatmentParticipants will complete the Self-Other fMRI task and reaction time responses assessed simultaneously during fMRI will be examined as a measure of self-referential processing.
Alerting, orienting, and attentional control reaction time scores on the Attention Network Test (ANT)Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 3, Week 6, Week 9, Post-treatmentParticipants will complete the Attention Network Test, which is a well-validated neurocognitive assay of general attentional mechanisms (alerting, orienting, and attentional control).
Depression severity, as assessed by the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS-SR)Across the span of 3 1/2 months: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), Week 3, Week 6, Week 9, Post-treatmentThe QIDS SR is a 16-item self-report measure of depressive symptom severity.
Depression severity, as assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)Across the span of 3 1/2 months: PHQ-9: Baseline (T-2weeks), Repeat Baseline (T0), and Weekly starting from Week 1.The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a 9-item, self-report measure of depression

Countries

United States

Contacts

CONTACTAngela Fang, PhD
angfang@uw.edu(206) 616-5783
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORAngela Fang, PhD

University of Washington

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 18, 2026