NCT07079709

Returning to Work After Stress-Related Sick Leave: An Effectiveness Trial of Work-Focused Treatments in Primary Care

• Status: Not Yet Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 204 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Karolinska Institutet · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 60 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if work-focused cognitive behaviour (WCBT) works to treat patients on sick leave due to non-traumatic long-term stress-related disorders. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Is WCBT more effective in improving work ability compared to standard care? * Do participants in WCBT have less sick leave days than those in standard care? * Is WCBT more effective in improving health outcomes and function than standard care? * Is WCBT a more cost-effective treatment option than standard care? Researchers will compare WCBT to standad care to see if there are differences in effect. Participants will participate in: * WCBT * Standard care

Conditions

• Clinical Burnout
• Exhaustion Disorder
• Adjustment Disorder With Work Inhibition

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Workfocused CBT	In WCBT, the central idea is that CBT techniques can be applied in a work context with the aim of achieving both usual treatment goals related to symptoms and RTW. To ensure positive effects at both symptomatic and functional levels, a work perspective must be fully integrated into the intervention to optimize the treatment effect which demands collaboration with the sick leave prescribing doctor and the patient's employer. The protocol is based on principles of increasing return-to-work self-efficacy (RTW-SE). Work-specific components, such as work anamnesis, adjusting the difficulty of work tasks, and developing a return-to-work plan that includes recommendations for workplace accommodations, are integrated into all treatment sessions.
OTHER	Standard Care (in control arm)	Standard Care is defined as care by the sick leave prescribing physician and the rehab coordinator. Other interventions such as psychological treatment, physiotherapy etc. may also be included in this arm.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-08-01
• Primary completion: 2030-12-01
• Completion: 2034-12-01
• First posted: 2025-07-23
• Last updated: 2025-07-23