NCT04719780

An Attachment Based Approach for Anxiety and Depression

Completed NA Last updated 9 February 2024

What this trial tests

NA trial testing Emotionally Focused Therapy for Individuals in Depression, Anxiety in 88 participants. Completed in 1 May 2023.

Timeline

9 December 2019

Primary endpoint
1 April 2022

1 May 2023

Quick facts

Lead sponsor	Saint Paul University
Phase	NA
Status	Completed
Study type	INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation	randomized
Design	parallel
Masking	single
Primary purpose	treatment
Enrollment	88
Start date	9 December 2019
Primary completion	1 April 2022
Estimated completion	1 May 2023
Sites	3 locations across Canada, United States

Drugs / interventions tested

• Emotionally Focused Therapy for Individuals
• Self-Help CBT Training

Conditions studied

• Depression, Anxiety — all drugs for Depression, Anxiety →

Sponsor

Saint Paul University

Who can join

18 and older, any sex, with Depression, Anxiety. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.

Sponsor's own description

The purpose of the current study is to examine the efficacy of Emotionally Focused Therapy for Individuals (EFIT) as a treatment for depression and anxiety. It is formulated as a trans-diagnostic treatment in line with the call for more transdiagnostic approaches to treat depression and anxiety given the many similarities in the underlying psychological and emotional factors of these disorders, the high levels of co-morbidity, and the preliminary success of transdiagnostic treatment approaches. EFIT has been formulated as an attachment-based alternative to current cognitive transdiagnostic approaches. The strong evidence for insecure attachment as an underlying factor in psychopathology, especially depression and anxiety, positions this theory well as a foundational principle to support psychotherapy for these conditions. EFIT has been formulated for the first time this year in the book that will serve as the therapy manual for this study. The current study aims to examine EFIT outcomes as compared to a control group (a wait-list control followed by online CBT intervention after the wait period). In particular, this research project aims to distinguish differences in initial and follow-up outcomes between EFIT versus control, and demonstrate significant changes in attachment/emotions and mechanisms of change across EFIT sessions. The primary hypotheses are outlined below.

Publications & conference data

1 peer-reviewed publication reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):

1. A randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused individual therapy (EFIT) for depression and anxiety.
   Wiebe SA, Johnson SM, Allan R, Campbell TL, et al · · 2025 · PMID 40638305 · DOI 10.1037/pst0000586