Recruiting

Habit Reversal Training

Sponsor:

University of Utah

Code:

NCT06825520

Conditions

Tics

Tourette Disorder

Tourette Syndrome in Children

Tourette Syndrome in Adolescence

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 8 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Habit Reversal Training

Study Details

Brief summary:

The primary aim of this study is to learn more about premonitory urges (PU) when using Habit Reversal Training (HRT) to treat tics.

The main focus of this study is to investigate if and when PU change during tic treatment sessions and between tic treatment sessions.

Participants will:

  • Attend 5 study visits (approximately 1 to 1.5 hours each) for an intake, habit reversal training for 3 separate tics, and a post assessment
  • Attend 5 practice sessions (approximately 30 minutes each) over a week for 3 weeks (total 15 practice sessions)
  • Study visits and practice sessions will take place in person and online via secure videoconference

Conditions

Tics

Tourette Disorder

Tourette Syndrome in Children

Tourette Syndrome in Adolescence

Study ID

NCT06825520

Start date

Feb 11, 2025

Status verified date

May, 2025

Completion date

May, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jul, 2025

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 8 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

Participants who meet criteria for a DSM-5-TR diagnosis of a TD will be recruited to participate in this study. Participants will be eligible for the study if they

1. present with at least three motor and/or vocal tics and are interested in receiving treatment,
2. report experiencing a PU for each of their target tics with a minimum rating of a 4/8 on a subjective rating (i.e., the Urge Thermometer; Silverman \& Albano, 1996) for each tic,
3. the targeted tics occur, on average, at least once per minute during a 10-minute direct observation,
4. are between the ages of 8 and 17
5. the patient has no planned changes in medication initiation or dosage during their study participation period.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. the presence of any comorbid conditions that are considered a primary treatment concern and/or could interfere with study participation or treatment (i.e., unmanaged ADHD, OCD, anxiety),
2. have previously engaged in CBIT or HRT for more than 2 sessions,
3. a Yale Global Tic Severity Score of 40+ (or 20+ if they present with a primary motor or vocal tic disorder),
4. suspected (based on clinical presentation) that the tics are better attributed to functional neurological symptom disorder per DSM-5-TR criteria (APA, 2022).

Study Design

Enrollment

6 participants

Anticipated

Intervention Model

Single group

Primary purpose

Basic Science

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: HRT

Participants will receive 3 therapist-guided sessions of habit reversal training (1 hour each) for 3 separate identified tics. Participant will also participate in 5 practice sessions per week (approximately 30 minutes sessions each; over the course of 3 weeks) in which participants will practice the skills learned in session with a study team member)

Interventions

Habit Reversal Training

Participants learn to identify when their tics occur and then learn a competing response to engage in instead of the 3 identified tics and then practice competing responses learned in session during the practice sessions throughout the week.

Primary outcome measure

  • Premonitory Urge (PU) Severity as measured by the urge thermometer [ Time Frame: PU severity will be measured during a 10 minute baseline observation; approximately 15 minutes or until 5 CR initiations have occurred, whichever is longer during each of the 3 HRT sessions and 15 practice sessions; during the 15 minute post assessment ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Locations

University of Utah

Recruiting

Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, 84112

Contacts

More Information

Sponsor

University of Utah

Last update posted

May 28, 2025

Last verified

May, 2025

Keywords

  • habit reversal training
  • tics
  • tourette
  • tourette's disorder
  • Tourette syndrome
  • treatment for tics

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Utah on 2025-05-28.