Transdiagnostic Online CBT Vs. Care As Usual for Primary Care Patients with Common Mental Disorders

Summary

The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to investigate if online transdiagnostic cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) can be effective in the treatment of common mental disorders in adult primary care patients. The main aim is to investigate:

if online transdiagnostic CBT yields superior symptomatic improvement compared to care-as-usual when given in a primary care context to patients with a common mental disorder.

Researchers will compare online transdiagnostic CBT to primary care as usual to see if psychiatric symptoms can be reduced.

Participants will be randomized to online transdiagnostic CBT or primary care as usual. Participants in online transdiagnostic CBT will receive a cognitive behavioral treatment provided through a secure web platform in which psychoeducation, worksheets, and exercises are presented in online modules similar to chapters in a book. Participants will receive weekly written feedback on their work and progress by a therapist who gives gradual access to the treatment modules. The lion's share of the contact between the therapist and the patient thus takes place through messages (similar to email) in the online treatment platform.

Participants randomized to care as usual will receive health care services as usual in primary care. As this comparator is intended to reflect real routine primary care, the interventions will not be controlled by the research project, but the investigators expect that participants will receive an active treatment.

Conditions

• Common Mental Disorders (CMD)

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Online transdiagnostic CBT

This treatment is provided through a secure web platform in which psychoeducation, worksheets, and exercises are presented in online modules similar to chapters in a book. Participants will receive weekly written feedback on their work and progress by a therapist who gives gradual access to the treatment modules. The lion's share of the contact between the therapist and the patient thus takes place through messages (similar to email) in the online treatment platform. It is however allowed to also have one to three face-to-face sessions on-site or through video calls to provide technical assistance and therapeutic support in accordance with the treatment model. Core components are: (a) psychoeducation about emotions and CBT, (b) functional analysis, (c) mindfulness practice, (d) breaking dysfunctional emotion-driven behaviors, and (e) exposure exercises.

OTHER

Primary care as usual

It is mandatory for primary care services in Stockholm, Sweden, to have staff with adequate competence in the assessment and treatment of common mental disorders. Typically, these patients are handled by general practitioners, psychologists, nurses, or social workers. As this comparator is intended to reflect real routine primary care, the interventions will not be controlled by the research project. We expect that participants allocated to this condition will receive an active treatment.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Region Stockholm

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• Karolinska Institutet

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Erik Hedman-Lagerlöf, PhD, professor · Region Stockholm and Karolinska Institutet

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2025-03-03

Primary Completion

2029-01-25

Completion

2029-01-25

Countries

• Sweden

Study Locations