Big Feelings: A Study on Children's Emotions in Therapy

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about how psychotherapy works for children and adolescents aged 8 - 15 with anxiety, depression, trauma, or disruptive behaviour. The main question it aims to answer is:

• Is the biobehavioural regulation of negative emotion a transdiagnostic mechanism of treatment response in psychotherapy for children with anxiety, depression, trauma and/or disruptive behaviour?

Children and their parents will be randomly assigned to an evidence-based, transdiagnostic treatment (the Modular Approach to Therapy for Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, and Conduct Problems; MATCH-ADTC) or a waitlist control condition. Participants in both groups will complete a baseline assessment, weekly measures consisting of brief symptom scales and medication tracking, and quarterly assessments every 3 months. Following the intervention/waitlist period, our team will conduct post-test assessments. All assessments, except for the weekly surveys, will consist of symptom scales, clinical interviews, experimental tasks and physiological measures.

Conditions

• Anxiety Disorders
• Depressive Disorder
• Mood Disorders
• Conduct Disorder
• Oppositional Defiant Disorder
• Regulation, Emotion
• Child Behavior Disorders
• Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Modular Approach to Therapy for Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma or Conduct Problems

The intervention arm will consist of a transdiagnostic psychotherapy program: The Modular Approach to Therapy for Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, or Conduct Problems (MATCH-ADTC). MATCH draws from various domains of evidence-based treatment and consists of 33 treatment modules. There are several core module sequences for problem areas such as depression, anxiety, trauma, and disruptive behavior, and a clinician can utilize these sequences based on the primary concern of the presenting child. If an individual reports additional stressors or comorbid conditions, the clinician can modify the sequence of the modules to address these comorbidities. MATCH treatment is flexible and is tailored for each individual client.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Centre for Addiction and Mental Health

  collaborator OTHER

• Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• University of Guelph

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Kristel Thomassin, PhD · University of Guelph

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

8 Years

Max Age

15 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-10-01

Primary Completion

2027-12-31

Completion

2027-12-31

Countries

• Canada

Study Locations