NCT04300816

Coping and Adjusting to Living With Multiple Sclerosis

Efficacy of a Psychosocial Intervention to Improve Ability to Cope With Uncertainty in MS

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 242 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Washington · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this project is to test a brief, telephone-based psychological intervention, CBT-UT, to improve the ability to tolerate uncertainty-and thereby to reduce distress-in people with a recent diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). There are three treatment arms for this study. Participants will receive either (1) CBT for Uncertainty Tolerance, (2) Traditional CBT, or (3) treatment as usual.

Detailed description

Despite substantial improvements in diagnosis and treatment, Multiple Sclerosis (MS) remains an unpredictable disease. Although some physicians can make some predictions about expected progression, the variable course of exacerbations makes it almost impossible to predict how MS will develop or affect function over time. As a result, people with MS must learn to live in a state of chronic uncertainty and the ability to tolerate and cope with this kind of uncertainty is central to quality of life with MS. Individuals who require certainty about the future and are not able to tolerate ambiguity are said to be high in a personality trait known as intolerance of uncertainty (IU). There is a significant gap in MS clinical intervention that necessitates attention. An intervention that specifically targets IU, is developed for people recently diagnosed with MS, and can be provided remotely via telehealth can make a significant impact for this population. Study aims include: (1) to determine the efficacy of CBT-UT relative to traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (tCBT) or treatment as usual (TAU) in people diagnosed with MS in the past 3 years; and (2) To increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying the intervention effects.

Conditions

• Multiple Sclerosis

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	CBT for Uncertainty Tolerance	Participants work one-on-one with an interventionist. Treatment sessions focus on understanding the difference between the controllable and uncontrollable aspects of MS, ability to tolerate not knowing exactly what the future will hold, setting personal goals for what "accepting" what MS will look like, and finding ways to live in conjunction with personal values despite the MS diagnosis.
BEHAVIORAL	Traditional CBT	Participants work one-on-one with an interventionist. Treatment sessions focus on goal setting, positive activities, identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts, and bolstering social support.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-10-30
• Primary completion: 2022-11-11
• Completion: 2022-11-11
• First posted: 2020-03-09
• Last updated: 2023-06-23

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States