Recruiting

Internet Delivered Psychotherapy

Sponsor:

University of Calgary

Code:

NCT05739370

Conditions

Depression in Old Age

Depression, Anxiety

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 65+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Problem-Solving Therapy for Older Adults

Study Details

Brief summary:

The goal of this mixed-methods, single-arm intervention study is to develop and evaluate a new internet-delivered psychotherapy option called Ger-iPST in older adults with symptoms of depression.

The overall aim of this project is to improve access to psychotherapy for older adults by developing, adapting and implementing a new internet-based treatment option, Ger-iPST. Towards this aim, our objectives are to:

1. Examine the preliminary effectiveness of Ger-iPST for symptoms of depression.
2. Examine barriers and facilitators to the use of Ger-iPST.

Participants will be asked to complete 8 weekly online therapy modules (Ger-iPST) through the Online Psycho Therapy Tool (OPTT); each module takes 45-60 minutes, and an extra 20-30 on weekly homework. Caregivers will be invited to assist participants if required.

Homework exercises are submitted through the platform, and a clinician trained in PST l will provide personalized, asynchronous online feedback. Participants will receive a weekly phone call from a research assistant to support any technical issues with completing the online modules. Following completion of the Ger-iPST modules, participants will be interviewed to provide feedback on acceptability and barriers and facilitators to the use of Ger-iPST.

Conditions

Depression in Old Age

Depression, Anxiety

Study ID

NCT05739370

Start date

Jan 1, 2023

Status verified date

Jan, 2024

Completion date

Dec, 2025

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Dec 31, 2024

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 65+

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals who are 65 years or older
  • Presenting with a primary complaint of depression and a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 score > 5
  • English Speaking
  • Residents of Alberta
  • Have internet access

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Individuals with acute safety concerns (e.g.suicidal ideation), psychotic symptoms, moderate cognitive impairment (Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA) < 21) or currently receiving psychotherapy

Study Design

Enrollment

13 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Ger-iPST

Prospective participants will be contacted by telephone to confirm eligibility, explain the study protocol, and obtain informed consent. An in-person or videoconference assessment will be used to administer baseline PHQ-9 to confirm enrolment criteria and will be asked questionnaire to gather demographic information. Participants will then be provided with an email link to access the Online Psycho Therapy Tool (OPTT). PHQ-9 will be collected again at the mid-point (4 weeks) and after completing the program through OPTT. Caregivers will be invited to assist the participant if required in completing Ger-iPST modules, and weekly telephone support calls by a research assistant will be provided to assist with any difficulty navigating technical aspects of the Ger-iPST platform.

Interventions

Problem-Solving Therapy for Older Adults

Problem-Solving Therapy for Older Adults (Ger-iPST) is an 8-week online psychotherapy program with online therapist support delivered through the Online Psycho Therapy Tool (OPTT). Ger-iPST has several evidence-based elements tailored to the specific needs of older adults, including relevant content (e.g. aging-related examples); process adaptations (e.g. more repetition); and digital usability modifications (e.g. high-contrast text).

Ger-iPST contains therapy modules assigned weekly and accessible at any time during the week. Modules begin with a brief, guided mindfulness relaxation exercise, followed by approximately 20 slides taking, on an average 1 hour to complete. Each module highlights a different step of Psychotherapy (PST) and includes an overview of a new skill, interactive activities and examples. A homework exercise designed to guide participants in applying a new PST skill exercise is submitted through the platform, and a clinician will provide personalized feedback.

Primary outcome measure

  • Measure the effectiveness for symptoms of depression in older adults. [ Time Frame: Baseline, mid-point (4-weeks) and after completing the program (8-weeks). ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Julia Kirkham, MD

403 955 6155geripst@ucalgary.ca

Lynn Tan, BSc

geripst@ucalgary.ca

Locations

Department of Psychiatry, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary

Recruiting

Calgary, Alberta, Canada, T2N 4N1

Contacts

Lynn Tan, BSc

geripst@ucalgary.ca

Principal Investigator:

Julia Kirkham, MD

More Information

Sponsor

University of Calgary

Last update posted

Apr 9, 2024

Last verified

Jan, 2024

Keywords

  • Online Psychotherapy

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-10. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Calgary on 2024-04-09.