Web Based Therapist Tutorial on Prolonged Grief

NCT ID: NCT05121792

Last Updated: 2022-07-20

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 400 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2021-10-28
• Study Completion Date: 2022-06-15

Brief Summary

Death of a loved one is a difficult life experience. About 1 in 10 bereaved people are strongly affected by the loss and grieve intensely for a long time. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, more people may struggle with grief. The investigators have developed and tested a talk therapy for prolonged grief.

The investigators have developed an online grief training for clinicians. The investigators will test if clinicians benefit from the online training and if they find it helpful and engaging. The investigators will recruit 30 mental health professionals as trainees to undergo the training. The mental health professionals will complete questionnaires before and after training to determine how much they learned and how much they liked the training.

Detailed Description

The investigators developed a short-term, manualized Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy (PGDT), originally known as Complicated Grief Treatment and found it efficacious in three large National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) sponsored randomized controlled trials. Facilitating access to training in Empirically Based Treatments has been identified as a national priority by both mental health professional organizations and NIMH. One way to help disseminate therapist training on EBT of Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) is through the use of new technologies. The investigators recently developed an online therapist training program in PGDT and a patient facing therapist-assisted web-based form of PGDT. The investigators are now looking to evaluate the acceptability and effectiveness of each of these online tools in pilot studies.

The tutorial contains 10 modules, each about 20-40 minutes long with information needed for effective delivery of PGDT. Participants will be encouraged to space out the tutorial vs. taking it in a few long sessions, to facilitate knowledge retention. A post-test will be given immediately after completing each module, as testing done closer to when the material was learned also improves retention. Participants will be encouraged to complete the tutorial within 5 weeks (about one hour or two modules per week). Consistent with continuing education guidelines, successful completion will require an overall score of 80% on post-tests. Participants would need to retake the module until a passing score is obtained. Interactive Patient Scenarios will be integrated into the tutorial at strategic points, in order to integrate conceptual and applied knowledge. All participants will be asked to evaluate whether the stated learning goals of each module were met and complete user satisfaction questionnaires on both the technical aspects of the on-line tutorial (using the System Usability Scale), and the clinical content (using the User Satisfaction Questionnaire). Participants will have access to the tutorial indefinitely, in order to provide a resource that they can refer back to as they begin to use these skills with patients.

Conditions

Prolonged Grief Disorder

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Therapist online training in Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy

Participants will be given access to an online 10-module interactive tutorial about Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Web Based Therapist Tutorial on Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

The tutorial consists of 10 online modules following the main procedures of the Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy (formerly known as Complicated Grief Treatment). Each module includes didactic information and interactive activities and videos, and takes approximately 30 minutes to review. Participants can study the material at their own pace.

Interventions

Web Based Therapist Tutorial on Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy

The tutorial consists of 10 online modules following the main procedures of the Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy (formerly known as Complicated Grief Treatment). Each module includes didactic information and interactive activities and videos, and takes approximately 30 minutes to review. Participants can study the material at their own pace.

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Mental health professional

Exclusion Criteria

• Student or employee of Columbia University

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

Sponsors

Center for Psychological Consultation

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Columbia University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Katherine Shear, MD

Marion E. Kenworthy Professor of Psychiatry

Responsibility Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

Kenneth A. Kobak, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Center for Psychological Consultation, WI

Katherine Shear, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Columbia School of Social Work

Locations

Center for Complicated Grief, Columbia School of Social Work

New York, New York, United States

Center for Psychological Consultation

Madison, Wisconsin, United States

Countries

United States

References

Shear K, Frank E, Houck PR, Reynolds CF 3rd. Treatment of complicated grief: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2005 Jun 1;293(21):2601-8. doi: 10.1001/jama.293.21.2601.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 15928281 (View on PubMed)

Shear MK, Reynolds CF 3rd, Simon NM, Zisook S, Wang Y, Mauro C, Duan N, Lebowitz B, Skritskaya N. Optimizing Treatment of Complicated Grief: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry. 2016 Jul 1;73(7):685-94. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0892.

Reference Type: BACKGROUND

PMID: 27276373 (View on PubMed)

Kobak K, Shear MK, Skritskaya NA, Bloom C, Bottex G. A Web-Based Therapist Training Tutorial on Prolonged Grief Disorder Therapy: Pre-Post Assessment Study. JMIR Med Educ. 2023 Mar 27;9:e44246. doi: 10.2196/44246.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 36972105 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

1R41MH118126-01A1

Identifier Type: NIH

Identifier Source: secondary_id

View Link

AAAT7389 Study1

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id