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Supplementing Inpatient Behavioral Activation Group Psychotherapy

NCT07611916 · Status: ENROLLING_BY_INVITATION · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 30

Last updated 2026-05-28

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

This study will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of a behavioral activation intervention designed for adults hospitalized on an inpatient psychiatric unit. The intervention includes two connected components: (1) a brief inpatient behavioral activation group delivered during hospitalization by unit staff (which is delivered to everyone as part of standard clinical care and not considered part of the study) and (2) a smartphone application that supports behavioral activation skills practice during the first 28 days after discharge.

Behavioral activation is a psychological treatment that aims to increase engagement in meaningful and rewarding activities and reduce patterns of avoidance that can worsen mental health symptoms. The intervention was designed specifically for the short length of stay and group-based structure typical of psychiatric inpatient care in the United States.

Participants will be recruited from an adult inpatient psychiatric unit at Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care.

The study uses an open trial design where there is no control group. Participants in the intervention condition will receive the behavioral activation group plus access to the smartphone application after discharge.

Participants will complete self-report assessments during hospitalization and throughout a 6-month follow-up period. During the first 28 days after discharge, participants will also complete smartphone-based ecological momentary assessments multiple times per day. Outcomes include depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, functioning, behavioral activation, emergency department visits, psychiatric readmission, outpatient treatment engagement, and intervention feasibility and acceptability.

Conditions

  • Suicide Ideation
  • Depressed

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Behavioral Activation

This intervention has a mobile app that corresponds to the treatment received during the inpatient stay, which has not been done before.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Model
SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2026-04-22
Primary Completion
2026-10-31
Completion
2027-04-30

Countries

  • United States

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 NCT07611916 on ClinicalTrials.gov