NCT07478393

Readiness and Progress in Emotion Regulation Therapy

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 36 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Teachers College, Columbia University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This study is an open trial designed to examine individual changes that occur before, during, and after 6 modules of Emotion Regulation Therapy (ERT) delivered via telehealth for individuals in New York State who are experiencing elevated worry, rumination, or self-criticism.

Detailed description

The main questions this study aims to answer are to: 1. Examine temporal patterns of ERT-specific treatment mechanisms (attention regulation, metacognitive regulation, motivation regulation, and valued living), relationships between these mechanisms and negative self-referential processing (NSRP; i.e., rumination, worry, and self-criticism) severity over time, and changes in these mechanisms in response to specific intervention strategies/modules. 2. Investigate the effect of concordance and/or discordance between therapists and clients regarding skill acquisition, treatment goals, and case conceptualizations on treatment mechanisms as well as measures of treatment outcome and satisfaction. 3. Demonstrate the preliminary efficacy of a 6-module, time-variable version of ERT in reducing symptoms of psychological distress (e.g., anxiety, depression, worry, rumination, self-criticism), changing ERT-specific treatment mechanisms (e.g., attention regulation), and improving quality of life and overall functioning. Participants will: 1. Fill out an online pre-screening questionnaire and complete a structured clinical interview via Zoom Healthcare 2. Be enrolled as a patient at the Dean Hope Center for Educational and Psychological Services (DHCEPS), located at Teachers College 3. Attend between 12-22 once-weekly telehealth ERT sessions 4. Complete between 18-28 weekly questionnaires online via Qualtrics (two before starting treatment, 12-22 during each week of treatment, and 4 after ending treatment).

Conditions

• Rumination
• Worry
• Self-Criticism
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Distress, Emotional

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Emotion Regulation Therapy via Telehealth	The initial stage of treatment focuses on psychoeducation about anxiety/depression, the impact that these cognitions/behaviors/emotions have on recent situations, and self-monitoring of worry/anxiety/depression. The sessions focus on the development of skills that help understand and regulate one's emotional experience (i.e., recognizing emotions when they are happening, identifying the meaning of a given emotion experience, soothing oneself in the context of negative emotional experiences). Following the development of these skills, sessions focus on the application of somatic awareness and emotion regulation skills while imagining emotionally evocative themes. The remaining session focuses on terminating therapy, relapse prevention, and future goals. An Internet-based online platform will be used to promote engagement with and increase accessibility to between-session skills practice and treatment-related activities (e.g., self-monitoring, session summaries, worksheets).

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-10-24
• Primary completion: 2028-08-01
• Completion: 2028-09-01
• First posted: 2026-03-17
• Last updated: 2026-03-17

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States