NCT06315114

A Transdiagnostic Mentalization-based Intervention for Parents With Mental Disorders

A Transdiagnostic Mentalization-based Intervention (LIGHTHOUSE Parenting Program) Versus Care as Usual for Parents With Mental Disorders in Adult Mental Health Service: a Randomised Clinical Trial

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 170 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The aim of this randomised clinical trial is to evaluate the short and longterm effects of a transdiagnostic mentalization-based intervention (Lighthouse MBT Parenting Program) compared to care as usal (CAU) for parents with a mental disorder in adult mental health service.

Detailed description

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 970 million people worldwide suffer from mental disorders, many of whom are parents. Cross-sectional studies indicate that between 15-55% of the patients attending adult mental health service (AMHS) are parents. In Denmark, about 430.000 children have at least one parent with a mental disorder. Parental mental health problems have a detrimental impact on parenting, leading to long-term negative consequences for their children. Robust evidence shows that children of parents with mental disorders have an elevated risk of various adverse outcomes and events, such as developing a mental disorder themselves and exposure to child maltreatment, compared to children of healthy unaffected parents, suggesting an intergenerational transmission of adversity from parent to child. Mental disorders in parents thus leaves deep traces throughout their children's' lives and entails major socio-economic consequences. Given the high prevalence and substantial burden of parental mental disorders, there is an urgent need for evidence-based interventions targeting the specific needs of this population to prevent the adverse impact on their children. Despite this, the existing services in AMHS for parents with mental disorders are insufficient, and not evidence based. The present trial seeks to fill in this gap. This is an investigator-initiated single-center, two-arm, parallel group randomized clinical trial testing for superiority of a transdiagnostic mentalization-based intervention (Lighthouse MBT Parenting Program) versus care as usual in 170 parents with various mental disorders. The experimental intervention and active control group intervention are delivered as an add-on to the participants' outpatient treatment. Participants will be recruited from the outpatient clinics at Psychotherapy Centre Stolpegaard (PCS), Capital Region of Denmark. Participants will be included if they comply with the eligibility criteria. Participants will be assessed at baseline, and at 6, 12, and 24 months follow-up after randomization.

Conditions

• Mental Disorder
• Behavior Disorders
• Diagnosis, Psychiatric
• Diagnosis Dual
• Severe Mental Disorder
• Mental Illness
• Psychiatric Disorder
• Psychiatric Disease
• Psychiatric Illness

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Lighthouse MBT Parenting Program (LPP)	The experimental group is a manualized transdiagnostic mentalization-based parenting intervention (Lighthouse MBT Parenting Program). This is a 12-week parenting group intervention (weekly session of 2 hours) with one preperatory initial individual session (1 hour) before the group commence.
BEHAVIORAL	Care as usual (CAU)	1-2 next of kin sessions (called 'Familiesamtale') is considered the care as usual offered to parents in adult mental health service in the Capital Region of Denmark. Parents are offered the possibility of bringing their spouse or offspring to one of the sessions.

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-03-11
• Primary completion: 2028-04-01
• Completion: 2028-04-01
• First posted: 2024-03-18
• Last updated: 2025-05-14

Locations

2 sites across 1 country: Denmark