Recruiting

CFIC

Sponsor:

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Code:

NCT07842952

Conditions

Mental Health Care

Mental Health in Elementary School Children

Mental Health Conditions

Mental Health Difficulties

Mental Health Disorders in Adolescents

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 7 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Cognitive Function Informed Care (CFIC)

Standard Care (in control arm)

Study Details

Brief summary:

Cognitive Function Informed Care (CFIC) is a new, add-on type of care for mental health outpatients. To receive this type of care, a child/youth does something called a neuropsychological assessment, which are tests given by a special type of psychologist, called a neuropsychologist. These tests give the neuropsychologist information about how that child/youth's brain works, in a way that is unique to them. This information is called cognitive function, and it is shared with the patient and their family. This information is also shared with their mental health provider, who will work with the neuropsychologist to make sure that their treatment makes sense for their brain.

One main purpose of this research is to see if it is better to receive information about cognitive function to help make treatment decisions (CFIC), or better to receive standard care without this information. To do this, participants will be randomly assigned to either receive CFIC or proceed with standard care. Between groups, we will be comparing any improvement(s) in overall function and symptoms.

The other main purpose of this research is to evaluate how CFIC influences the outpatient mental health service (i.e., implementation). We will be monitoring how the service is delivered, documenting changes as needed, asking patients about their experience(s), surveying staff members and evaluating cost.

Conditions

Mental Health Care

Mental Health in Elementary School Children

Mental Health Conditions

Mental Health Difficulties

Mental Health Disorders in Adolescents

Study ID

NCT07842952

Start date

Jul 31, 2026

Status verified date

Sep, 2026

Completion date

Sep 1, 2028

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jul 31, 2028

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 7 - 17

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Children and Youth: At least 7 but no more than 17 years of age at enrollment.
  • Referred by the initial CHEO Outpatient MH clinician (the Choice clinician) to an individual Outpatient MH provider (an Individual Partnership provider).

Parents/Caregivers:

\- The parent/guardian/caregiver of a child or youth meeting the above criteria

Mental Health Staff:

  • Partnership-level providers involved in delivering CFIC to children/youth in CHEO's Outpatient MH Service.
  • Administrative leaders (i.e, Medical Lead, Clinical Lead, Manager, MH Program Director, Chief of Psychiatry) for CHEO's Outpatient MH Team.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Younger than 7 years of age or older than 18 years at initial CHEO Outpatient MH appointment.
  • Referred to any non-individual provider appointment by the initial CHEO Outpatient MH clinician (the Choice clinician); this includes referral to providers administering group or Rapid Response Team care.
  • Does not understand English or French.

Parents/Caregivers:

  • The adults responsible for any child or youth in the situations described above.
  • Does not understand English or French.

Mental Health Staff:

\- Providers not involved in delivering CFIC to children/youth as part of CHEO's Outpatient Mental Health Service.

Study Design

Enrollment

215 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Other

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Intervention

Participants will receive a neuropsychological assessment before treatment. Results from this assessment will be interpreted and applied to their treatment plan.

active comparator: Treatment as Usual (TAU)

The TAU group will proceed with the standard mental health care path. Once post-test measures are complete, these participants will receive a neuropsychological assessment.

Interventions

Cognitive Function Informed Care (CFIC)

CFIC consists of three components: 1) Stepped Neuropsychological Assessment for every child or youth, which adapts to the individual's cognitive function needs and is recommended when integrating neuropsychological assessments into an existing practice ; 2) Brief Neuropsychological Testing Report completed by a neuropsychologist in the electronic health record (EHR) - these reports are concise and intended to highlight how the cognitive profile can be used to improve treatment, school and home function; 3) A meeting between the neuropsychologist and mental health provider to discuss and tailor treatment, summarized and documented in the EHR.

Following the stepped neuropsychological assessment, there are two ways that CFIC can tailor treatment for an individual. First is an adjustment to the type of psychotherapy planned. The second is by is by optimizing the provider-patient communication and relationship, using information about learning/communication styles.

Standard Care (in control arm)

Participants will meet with their mental health provider as planned. Treatment will be delivered in accordance with standard practice. Neuropsychological assessment results will not be shared with the mental health provider.

Primary outcome measure

  • Changes in Overall Function and Mental Health Symptoms [ Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment, in 6 months or less. ]
  • CFIC Implementation [ Time Frame: From enrollment until 6-8 months after beginning their partnership appointment, unless discharged from treatment sooner. ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Phillippe Robaey, MD PhD

613-737-7600probaey@cheo.on.ca

Angelica Blais, PhD

613-769-2881ablais@cheo.on.ca

Locations

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Recruiting

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1H 8L1

Contacts

Dasa Farthing

613-737-7600dfarthing@cheo.on.ca

More Information

Sponsor

Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario

Last update posted

Sep 25, 2026

Last verified

Sep, 2026

Keywords

  • Hybrid Type 2
  • Neuropsychology
  • Cognitive Function

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-26. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario on 2026-09-25. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.