The Process Outcome Mindfulness Effects in Trainees (PrOMET)-Study

Summary

Background: Mindfulness has its origins in an Eastern Buddhist tradition that is over 2500 years old and can be defined as a specific form of attention that is non-judgemental, purposeful, and focused on the present moment. It has been well established in cognitive behavior therapy in the last decades, while it has been investigated in manualized group settings. Consequently, the demand to investigate mindfulness under effectiveness conditions in trainee therapists has been highlighted.

Methods/Design: To fill in this research gap, the investigators designed the PrOMET-Study. In this study, the investigators will analyze the effects of brief, audio-tape presented, in-session mindfulness interventions conducted by both trainee therapists and their patients at the beginning of individual therapy sessions in a randomized, controlled longitudinal design under effectiveness conditions in a total of 30 trainee therapists and 150 patients in a large outpatient training center. The investigators hypothesize the mindfulness intervention will have positive effects on therapeutic processes and outcome in contrast to a progressive muscle relaxation and a treatment as usual group. The investigators will conduct multilevel modeling to address the nested data structure.

Discussion: The study results could provide important practical implications, as they could inform ideas on how to improve clinical training of psychotherapists that could be implemented very, as there is no need for complex infrastructures or additional time concerning these brief, in-session mindfulness interventions that are directly implemented in treatment sessions.

Conditions

• Major Depression
• Anxiety Disorder

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Cognitive behavior therapy of trainee therapists

In all three treatment arms, trainee therapists perform a cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) under conditions of the German health care system. This treatment is not a manualized intervention, but rather based on individualized treatment plans that have been developed together with expert supervisors during a five session diagnostic stage. Treatment duration is 25 sessions, while on average every fourth is supervized by an CBT expert therapist.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Trier

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Zurich

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Applied Sciences Esslingen

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Heidelberg University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Johannes V Mander, PhD · Center for Psychological Psychotherapy - University of Heidelberg

• Hinrich Bents, PhD · Center for Psychological Psychotherapy - University of Heidelberg

• Sven Barnow, PhD · Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy - University of Heidelberg

• Christoph Flueckiger, PhD · Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy - University of Zuerich

• Thomas Heidenreich, PhD · Faculty of Social Work, Health and Nursing - University of Applied Sciences Esslingen

• Wolfgang Lutz, PhD · Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy - University of Trier

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

65 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2014-10-31

Primary Completion

2018-01-31

Completion

2018-07-31

Countries

• Germany

Study Locations