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Technology Enhanced Family Treatment

Phase 1 & 2
Waitlist Available
Led By Armen Arevian, MD
Research Sponsored by University of California, Los Angeles
Eligibility Criteria Checklist
Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial
Must have
Be younger than 65 years old
Timeline
Screening 3 weeks
Treatment Varies
Follow Up outcomes scores at 27 weeks
Awards & highlights
No Placebo-Only Group

Summary

This trial tests a family therapy combined with a mobile app to help teens with mood issues and their parents. The app tracks moods and interactions, giving real-time advice to improve family dynamics and mood stability. Integrating psychosocial interventions with mobile apps may increase treatment engagement among adolescents.

Eligible Conditions
  • Affective Disorder
  • Bipolar Disorder
  • Mood Disorders
  • Depression

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks
Treatment ~ Varies
Follow Up ~outcomes scores at 27 weeks
This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and outcomes scores at 27 weeks for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.
Primary study objectives
Average Depression Symptom Scores Over 27 Weeks on the Adolescent Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation
Secondary study objectives
Children's Global Assessment of Functioning
Expressed Emotion in Parents From the Five Minute Speech Sample
Free Speech Samples Coded Using the Linguistic Inquiry Word Count System.
+1 more

Side effects data

From 2021 Phase 1 & 2 trial • 65 Patients • NCT03913013
22%
Self-harm, with or without suicidal ideation
16%
Inpatient hospitalization or Emergency Room visit
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Study treatment Arm
FFT With MCC App (FFT-MCC)
FFT With App Assessments Only (FFT-Assess)

Awards & Highlights

No Placebo-Only Group
All patients enrolled in this study will receive some form of active treatment.

Trial Design

2Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Group I: FFT with MCC App (FFT-MCC)Experimental Treatment1 Intervention
Youth in this study arm will receive 12 sessions of FFT (psychoeducation, communication skills training, and problem-solving skills training) with their parents and siblings. They and their parents will make regular mobile app ratings of mood, sleep, family functioning, stress, and perceived criticism. Children and parents will call into a voice-activated phone system and be asked to speak freely for 3-5 minutes about their health and family functioning. They will be guided through 12 lesson plans in which they practice skills such as active listening or identifying prodromal signs of episodes, paralleling what they are learning in sessions. The clinician will be able to set a weekly skill training assignment and observe the family's practice of the skill between sessions. They will adapt session content accordingly.
Group II: FFT with App Assessments only (FFT-Assess)Active Control1 Intervention
Youth in this condition will receive the same 12 sessions of FFT, but the app will be limited to daily and weekly assessments of their mood, sleep, stress, and family functioning. The app will not provide the skill training offered in the FFT-MCC condition.
Treatment
First Studied
Drug Approval Stage
How many patients have taken this drug
Family-Focused Treatment with MCC App
2018
Completed Phase 2
~70

Find a Location

Who is running the clinical trial?

University of California, Los AngelesLead Sponsor
1,567 Previous Clinical Trials
10,266,935 Total Patients Enrolled
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)NIH
2,928 Previous Clinical Trials
2,744,954 Total Patients Enrolled
Armen Arevian, MDPrincipal InvestigatorUniversity of California, Los Angeles
David J Miklowitz, PhDPrincipal InvestigatorUniversity of California, Los Angeles
3 Previous Clinical Trials
359 Total Patients Enrolled
~9 spots leftby Dec 2025