Group Intervention for Improving Stigma Coping and Empowerment of People With Mental Illness (STEM)

NCT ID: NCT01655368

Last Updated: 2016-06-15

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 486 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2012-05-31
• Study Completion Date: 2015-06-30

Brief Summary

This multi-center, 2-arm interventional study within different mental health care settings (psychiatry: in-patient, day-unit and out-patient, as well as psychiatric rehabilitation) evaluates a psychotherapeutic group intervention to improve stigma coping and empowerment using a psychotherapeutic module embedded in a psychoeducational group therapy.

Detailed Description

People with mental illness suffer both from the burden of disease itself and from the social stigma related to mental illness, hence impeding their treatment (Sartorius et al. 2005, Link et al. 1999). Negative attitudes towards and discriminating behavior against people with mental illness negatively affect health care utilization, the course of disease, compliance, self-esteem, and social functioning (Sirey et al. 2001, Link et al. 2001, Perlick et al. 2001). Internalizing negative social stereotypes (self-stigmatization; Ritsher et al. 2003, Watson et al. 2007) impairs the quality of life and leads to social withdrawal (Rüesch 2005). Furthermore, self stigma is associated with lower empowerment (Ritsher et al. 2004), a poorer social network (Lysaker et al. 2007), lower compliance (Fung et al. 2008) and a higher extent of symptoms (Corrigan et al. 2006). The stigma of mental illness leads to an impaired pursuance of individual life goals, as job-related ambitions or living in a relationship (Rüesch 2005).

Current approaches targeting the stigma of mental illness primarily focus on education about mental illness in different target groups (e.g. Gaebel et al. 2003, 2004) and can be successful, if appropriately implemented (Gaebel et al. 2008). Yet there is a lack of RCT-tested psychotherapeutic approaches which directly address patients with mental illness improving their skills of coping with stigma and discrimination. Therefore it is intended to develop, manualise, and to evaluate such a psychotherapeutic group intervention within a randomized clinical control group design.

In this context, group-based cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy has been proved as efficient therapeutic approach for patients with depression (cf. McDermut et al. 2006) and with schizophrenia (cf. Lawrence et al. 2006, Barrowclough et al. 2006) in different settings. Patients can serve each other as role models and will modify negative self-related cognitions, thus developing new cognitions supporting self-esteem (Corrigan et al. 2001). The following interventional effects should improve the patients' quality of life and also result in a reduction of frequency and length of inpatient stays and sickness-related absenteeism:

• improved skills to cope with negative stigmatizing experiences,
• a reduced burden through of self-stigmatizing cognitions,
• a better utilization of resources for disease managing in coherence with reduced self-stigmatization, and
• an improved coping with stigma-related conflicts at work.

Conditions

Schizophrenia; Depression

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Interventional: STEM modules

8 sessions of psychoeducation + 3 sessions + 1 booster session of STEM module (for schizophrenia or depression)

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

psychotherapeutic STEM modules

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

psychoeducational and psychotherapeutical group intervention. 8 sessions of psychoeducation + 3 sessions + 1 booster session of STEM module for schizophrenia or depression)

Interventional Control

11 sessions + 1 booster session of psychoeducation for schizophrenia or depression)

Group Type: OTHER

Interventional control of normal psychoeducational treatment

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

11 sessions + 1 booster session of psychoeducation (for schizophrenia or depression)

Interventions

psychotherapeutic STEM modules

psychoeducational and psychotherapeutical group intervention. 8 sessions of psychoeducation + 3 sessions + 1 booster session of STEM module for schizophrenia or depression)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Interventional control of normal psychoeducational treatment

11 sessions + 1 booster session of psychoeducation (for schizophrenia or depression)

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Age 18 - 65 years
• ICD-10 diagnosis of F2, F31.3-31.5, F32-34, F34.2, F43.2
• patients who would participate in a psychoeducational group therapy in their regular treatment
• written informed consent of the patient willing to participate
• capacity of giving consent (as diagnosed by the investigator)

Exclusion Criteria

• insufficient knowledge of german language (reading, understanding and speaking not sufficient, as judged by the investigator)
• acute psychotic or dissociative condition

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Wolfgang Gaebel, Professor

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Wolfgang Gaebel, Professor

Professor Dr.

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Wolfgang Gaebel, Prof. Dr.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

LVR-Klinikum Düsseldorf Kliniken der Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf

Locations

Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie der RWTH

Aachen, , Germany

Facharztpraxis Dr. Mönter

Berlin, , Germany

Facharztpraxis Gereke

Berlin, , Germany

Facharztpraxis Alicia Navarro Urena

Berlin, , Germany

MediClin Bliestal Kliniken, Fachklinik für psychosomatische Medizin

Blieskastel, , Germany

Mittelrhein-Klinik Bad Salzig der DRV

Boppard-Bad Salzig, , Germany

Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Universität zu Köln

Cologne, , Germany

Facharztpraxis, Dr. Frosch

Düsseldorf, , Germany

Facharztpraxis Dr. Kuhlbusch

Düsseldorf, , Germany

LVR-Klinikum Düsseldorf - Kliniken der Heinrich-Heine Universität

Düsseldorf, , Germany

Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Uniklinik Göttingen

Göttingen, , Germany

Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, UKE

Hamburg, , Germany

Oberhavel Kliniken Hennigsdorf

Hennigsdorf, , Germany

Berolina Klinik

Löhne, , Germany

Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie der Uniklinik Marburg

Marburg, , Germany

Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, LMU

Munich, , Germany

Reha-Zentrum Seehof der DRV

Teltow, , Germany

Psychiatrisch-psychotherapeutisches Rehabilitationszentrum grund.stein

Tübingen, , Germany

Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie

Tübingen, , Germany

AHG Klinik Waren

Waren (Müritz), , Germany

Countries

Germany

References

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Related Links

http://www.rk-duesseldorf.lvr.de

homepage of the responsible party

Other Identifiers

STEM

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id