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The Effects of Expressive Writing and Compassionate Letter Writing on Emotional Distress Intolerance

NCT05284578 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 424

Last updated 2025-06-04

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Perceived emotional distress intolerance is a transdiagnostic marker of psychopathology associated with psychological and interpersonal dysfunction, and the development of interventions for perceived emotional distress intolerance is of prime importance. One potential intervention is a behavioural experiment, i.e. a cognitive behaviour therapy technique where clients undergo an exercise designed to test a maladaptive belief, e.g., that negative emotions are unbearable, and adjust their belief to accommodate any disconfirmatory information that arises through the exercise. This study examines the effects of a one-session self-compassion writing behavioural experiment compared to a one-session expressive writing behavioural experiment on low perceived distress tolerance. Participants were recruited from the University of Waterloo and Prolific, and were randomly assigned to the self-compassion condition, expressive writing condition, or a control condition.

Conditions

  • Distress Intolerance

Interventions

OTHER

Expressive writing intervention

Participants assigned to this intervention were asked to engage in one brief online expressive writing session, where they were asked to explore their deepest thoughts and emotions surrounding an upsetting situation through writing.

OTHER

Control writing task

Participants assigned to this condition were asked to engage in a neutral time management writing task.

OTHER

Self-compassionate writing intervention

Participants assigned to this intervention were asked to engage in one brief online self-compassionate writing session, where they were asked to write about and experience their feelings from the perspective of an inner compassionate observer.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Waterloo

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Allison Kelly, PhD · Associate professor

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2021-07-04
Primary Completion
2022-07-21
Completion
2022-07-21

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT05284578 on ClinicalTrials.gov