Common Factors Group Psychotherapy for Mental Illness
Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)
Overseen byDrew Whittington, MS, MA
Age: 18+
Sex: Any
Travel: May Be Covered
Time Reimbursement: Varies
Trial Phase: Academic
Recruiting
Sponsor: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Must not be taking: Narcotics
Disqualifiers: Self-harm, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Hallucinations, others
No Placebo Group
Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?The current research will investigate the impact of general psychotherapy using common factors (i.e., techniques and communication skills that are common to all major forms of psychotherapy) to investigate whether mental health professionals can treat a variety of mental health concerns utilizing this general form of psychotherapy as opposed to specific forms of psychotherapy that may require specific trainings or education.
Will I have to stop taking my current medications?
The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. However, it does mention that participants should not have used narcotics like heroin, meth, crack cocaine, or opioids in the last 7 days.
What data supports the effectiveness of the treatment Common Factors Group Psychotherapy for mental illness?
Research shows that group psychotherapy can significantly improve mental health for patients with various conditions, including depression and schizophrenia. Studies indicate that both inpatient and outpatient group therapy can be effective, with increased attendance leading to better outcomes.
12345Is Common Factors Group Psychotherapy generally safe for humans?
Research shows that adverse events (unwanted effects) can occur in group psychotherapy, affecting more than one in ten participants, with serious events in more than one in 21 participants. Monitoring for these events is important, but not always consistently done in psychotherapy trials.
678910How does Common Factors Group Psychotherapy differ from other treatments for mental illness?
Common Factors Group Psychotherapy is unique because it focuses on the shared elements across different therapeutic approaches, emphasizing self-understanding, self-disclosure, and learning from interactions with others. Unlike individual therapy, it leverages the dynamics of a group setting to enhance social learning and insight into personal motivations, making it particularly effective for improving interpersonal relationships and addressing social aspects of mental health.
1341112Eligibility Criteria
This trial is for adults over 18 who feel they are struggling with psychological distress, such as anxiety, stress, depression, PTSD or other mental health concerns. It's not suitable for individuals seeking specific types of psychotherapy that require specialized training.Inclusion Criteria
I am feeling emotionally distressed.
I am at least 18 years old.
Trial Timeline
Screening
Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial
2-4 weeks
Treatment
Participants receive general psychotherapy using common factors for 6 weeks
6 weeks
Weekly sessions (in-person or virtual)
Follow-up
Participants are monitored for safety and effectiveness after treatment
4 weeks
Participant Groups
The study tests Common Factors Group Psychotherapy to see if general techniques used in all major forms of psychotherapy can help with various mental disorders without needing specific therapy forms.
1Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Group I: Common Factors Group TherapyExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
We will use a general common factors psychotherapy utilizing only psychotherapeutic techniques common to most forms of psychotherapy (e.g., listening and communication skills)
Find a Clinic Near You
Research Locations NearbySelect from list below to view details:
University of Alabama at BirminghamBirmingham, AL
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Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?
University of Alabama at BirminghamLead Sponsor
References
The different kinds of group psychotherapy with patients with different diagnoses. [2019]Group psychotherapy is a treatment method in which in addition to the therapist(s) the participating individuals are, autocentrically, active in attaining a therapeutic effect. The different kinds of group psychotherapy are described: 1) activity group psychotherapy, 2) analytic group psychotherapy, 3) directive-suggestive-group psychotherapy, 4) psychodrama, 5) accelerating/focal methods of group psychotherapy. Group psychotherapeutic techniques with patients of different diagnoses are discussed, e.g. group psychotherapy with drug dependants and alcoholics, in which it is not possible to use a pure analytic method of group psychotherapy. Their oral tendencies and narcissistic desires of undergoing a fusion with the therapist have to a certain degree to be fulfilled. Schizophrenics should encounter is group psychotherapy an unconditioned emotional response from the therapist. These patients on the one hand expect to be understood in their psychotic experience, but on the other hand they seem to be glad when the measures of the outside reality are maintained in the group. The relatives of schizoprenics wanting to co-operate are taken in a parallel group. Depressives, especially endogenous depressives, need a longer time to be integrated in a therapeutic group than other patients, but if they can be integrated, it helps them to tolerate their sufferings. To the neurotics, group psychotherapy offers insight and a chance to "translate" this insight into a new social behaviour. Analytic self-experience groups with staff members give them an opportunity to recognise from their own experience the conflicts and the behaviour patterns from which their patients suffer.
[Inpatient-ambulatory psychoanalytic group therapy, a useful concept]. [2009]Concepts of group psychotherapy are standard in contemporary inpatient psychotherapy. The effective treatment combination of both inpatient and outpatient group psychotherapy, however, is less common. The following discussion evaluates the effectiveness of inpatient-outpatient group psychotherapy as a therapeutic method as well as its applicability for standard treatment.
Large improvement of mental health during in outpatient short-term group psychotherapy treatment-a naturalistic pre-/post-observational study. [2023]Group psychotherapy is an effective treatment for patients with mental health issues. This study aims to evaluate data on the effectiveness of a cost-free short-term outpatient group psychotherapy project for patients with mixed mental health issues in Tyrol, Austria.
[Group psychotherapy in psychiatry]. [2006]Psychiatry has learned to regard the human being not only as an individual but as a social being. Accordingly, group psychotherapy has come increasingly to the fore in recent years and decades. In general the term "group psychotherapy" means simultaneous psychotherapy of a number of patients by one or two therapists. Sociological-interactional-horizontal and deep psychological-motivational-vertical components combine in the therapeutic group to produce a resultant. Insight into unconscious motivations and social learning are stimulated in the therapeutic group. Through group psychotherapy, which can be administered as a treatment method alone or in combination with other therapies, inpatients and outpatients experience a framework which activates former experiences of collective life situations, e.g. in the family, and social valencies. Irrespective of the method of group psychotherapy (activity group psychotherapy, directive-suggestive group psychotherapy, group analysis, psychodrame or one of the accelerating methods) the group should always be group- and not leader-centered. Hitherto published results of group psychotherapy show that the treatment depends much more on the therapeutic commitment of the therapist (moderator, facilitator) than on the psychotherapeutic school to which the belongs.
Best practices: increased attendance in inpatient group psychotherapy improves patient outcomes. [2022]This column describes an initiative that promoted increased attendance in group psychotherapy and its effect on patient outcomes. Information on patient- and staff-rated outcomes, readmission rates, and patient satisfaction was gathered for 2,782 inpatients in a private psychiatric facility in Australia. On average, after the initiative was implemented, patients went from attending one session per day to two sessions. Inpatients admitted after implementation had better patient- and staff-rated outcomes and lower rates of readmission within one month of discharge. However, patients' treatment satisfaction ratings declined. These findings indicate that increasing attendance in group psychotherapy can be a useful adjunct to hospital treatment.
Adverse outcomes in group psychotherapy: risk factors, prevention, and research directions. [2022]Group forms of therapy have been growing at a rapid rate, in part because of their documented effectiveness and economic considerations such as managed care. It is therefore becoming increasingly important to assess the psychological risks of these interventions. The author provides an overview of the published literature and conference presentations on negative effects in adult outpatient groups. Although much of the literature on adverse outcomes in group therapy focuses on single risk factors (e.g., negative leader, group process, or patient characteristics), the author argues that an interactional model should be encouraged. Means of reducing casualties are also discussed, as well as methodological issues and research directions.
The need for expanded monitoring of adverse events in behavioral health clinical trials. [2012]Monitoring for possible adverse events is ethically required by Institutional Review Boards and Good Clinical Practice guidelines for all human research involving the delivery of treatment interventions in a clinical trial. The monitoring of adverse events is a well-established and routine practice for contemporary clinical trials involving medications and medical devices. However, these same guidelines have not been fully integrated into clinical trials involving the use of behavioral health interventions and psychotherapy. Most behavioral health clinical trials limit adverse event monitoring to serious adverse events such as suicide attempts, completed suicides, and psychiatric hospitalizations. Other possible "side effects" of psychotherapy, such as temporary increases in anxiety, are often considered a normal part of therapy and are therefore not documented as possible adverse events. This manuscript reviews a variety of reasons for the limited adverse event monitoring in behavioral health clinical trials and highlights the importance of incorporating expanded adverse event monitoring into future behavioral health clinical trials. Without understanding the nature and prevalence of adverse events, patients cannot be informed adequately of the possible risks and benefits of behavioral interventions prior to engaging in treatment.
Adverse events of group psychotherapy in the in-patient setting - results of a naturalistic trial. [2019]Adverse events of psychotherapy have often been neglected in research. In this study, potential adverse events of group psychotherapies in a psychiatric hospital were systematically assessed, explored for predictors and linked to treatment outcome.
Adverse events in psychotherapy randomized controlled trials: A systematic review. [2023]Objective: Although evidence for benefits of psychotherapy is substantial, less is known about potential harm. Therefore, we systematically summarized randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to compile evidence-based data on the frequency and characteristics of adverse events (AEs) of psychotherapy. Method: This systematic review of result publications is based on a review of harm consideration in psychotherapy study protocols. Results: On the basis of 115 study protocols, 85 RCTs with 126 psychotherapy and 61 control conditions were eligible for inclusion. The sample consisted of 14,420 participants with the most common mental disorders. Harmful events, e.g., AEs, number of individuals with symptom deterioration, were explicitly reported in 60% of the studies. Conceptualization, recording, and reporting of AEs were heterogeneous. For most reported AEs, the association to study treatment remained unclear. Conclusions: Because the AE recording approaches of the individual studies differed substantially, results could only be compared to a limited extent. Consistent with other findings, this review demonstrates that AEs can be expected to affect more than one in ten participants. Serious AEs occurred more than in one in 21 participants in psychotherapy RCTs. To allow a balanced risk/benefit evaluation of psychotherapy, systematic harm monitoring and reporting should become standard in psychotherapy RCTs.
Brief group treatment and managed mental health care. [2019]There is increasing interest in the application of brief group psychotherapy to treat a wide variety of patient conditions. This paper reviews a selected set of controlled and comparison studies of brief, outpatient group treatment with adults, and considers findings that support the effectiveness of this approach. Authors discuss barriers to the use of brief group interventions and make recommendations regarding increased utilization of this approach in managed mental health settings.
Whom to refer for group psychotherapy. [2019]The authors believe that group psychotherapy is a useful modality in terms of both economic use of resources and manpower and effective treatment for many common problems. Three major indications for group therapy are inappropriate patterns of interpersonal relationships, the tendency to act immediately on feelings, and the potential or existence of a transference that impedes individual therapy. Patients in these categories who are also in crisis or have a neurotic problem for which the development of a transference neurosis is indicated may require individual therapy instead of or in addition to group therapy. The attitude of the referring physician is crucial; he/she must provide support during the transition and must believe that group therapy can substantially benefit the patient.
Perceptions by patients and therapists of therapeutic factors in group psychotherapy. [2019]The comparative value of possible therapeutic factors in group psychotherapy was studied by submitting questionnaires regularly to patients and therapists of six long-term out-patient groups. Both patients and therapists attached most importance to self-understanding, self-disclosure and learning from interpersonal actions. They diverged, however, in their overall perception of which factors were important in therapy.