NCT05766592

Affirmative Family and Individual Psychotherapy for Sexual and Gender Minority Adults and Their Nonaccepting Parents

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: Phase 3
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 124 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Yale University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 20 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy of an LGBTQ-affirmative individual cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (CBT) and LGBTQ-affirmative family therapy (attachment-based family therapy for sexual and gender minority young adults; ABFT-SGM) delivered via telehealth to a sample of sexual and gender minority adults with nonaccepting parent(s) in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Israel. The investigators will assess whether both treatments are associated with significant decreases in depressive and anxiety symptoms. The investigators will also assess whether and how each treatment achieves reductions in mental health symptoms through specific mechanisms (e.g., rejection sensitivity, internalized stigma, emotion dysregulation, parental rejection and acceptance).

Detailed description

The purpose of this study is to assess the efficacy and purported change mechanisms in an LGBTQ-affirmative individual cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (CBT) and LGBTQ-affirmative family therapy (attachment-based family therapy for sexual and gender minority young adults; ABFT-SGM) delivered via telehealth to a sample of sexual and gender minority adults in New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Israel. In this 2-arm randomized clinical trial (RCT), participants will receive 16 weekly sessions of either LGBTQ-affirmative CBT or ABFT-SGM. Investigators will assess whether both treatments are associated with significant decreases in depressive and anxiety symptoms. Investigators will also assess whether psychosocial mechanisms (e.g., rejection sensitivity, internalized stigma, emotion dysregulation, parental rejection and acceptance) mediate reductions in psychological symptoms, and whether such mediators differ between the two treatments. Finally, investigators will assess whether participants who begin treatment with higher levels of parental rejection benefit more from ABFT-SGM than from LGBTQ-affirmative CBT, and whether participants with higher initial levels of maladaptive stress responses benefit more from LGBTQ-affirmative CBT.

Conditions

• Mental Health Issue
• Parent-Child Relations

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	LGBTQ-affirmative CBT	16-session LGBTQ-affirmative psychotherapy using cognitive behavioral techniques
BEHAVIORAL	ABFT-SGM	16-session attachment-based family therapy for sexual and gender minority young adults and their nonaccepting parents

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-08-13
• Primary completion: 2027-06-30
• Completion: 2027-06-30
• First posted: 2023-03-13
• Last updated: 2026-01-13

Locations

2 sites across 2 countries: United States, Israel