Assessing Mental Health Providers' Clinical Knowledge and Skills Via an Online Training on LGBTQ-affirmative Cognitive-behavioral Therapy

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: LGBTQ
• Interventions: Behavioral: LGBTQ-affirmative CBT training

• Registration Number: NCT04559698
• Lead Sponsor: Yale University

Brief Summary

The purpose of the proposed study is to train mental health providers (MHPs) at lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community centers across the United States in evidence-based, LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

Detailed Description

The purpose of the proposed study is to train mental health providers (MHPs) at LGBTQ community centers across the United States in evidence-based, LGBTQ-affirmative cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

The primary objective of this study is to determine whether the LGBTQ-affirmative CBT training increases LGBTQ and CBT knowledge, clinical skills, and cultural humility among a sample of MHPs from LGBTQ community centers in the U.S. The proposed prospective study will follow a 2-arm waitlist randomized-controlled trial design where one group of MHPs will be randomized to receive the intervention training (i.e., the immediate training group) in LGBTQ-affirmative CBT, and the second group of MHPs will be randomized to a waitlist control group.

The proposed mixed-methods study will consist of predominantly quantitative self-report measures, as well as a qualitative self-assessment of participants' LGBTQ-affirmative CBT clinical skills. All study measures will be administered online at three time points-- baseline, 4-months post-baseline, and 8-months post-baseline (changed prior to randomization from 3-months and 6-months, respectively)-- via the secure Yale Qualtrics survey software.

Basic Information
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Recruitment & Eligibility
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Study & Design
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Trial Locations

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2020-09-16
• Study First Submitted QC: 2020-09-16
• Study First Posted: 2020-09-23
• Study Start: 2020-10-01
• Primary Completion: 2021-06-26
• Study Completion: 2021-06-26
• Results First Submitted: 2021-12-06
• Status Verified: 2022-03
• Results First Submitted QC: 2022-03-11
• Last Update Submitted: 2022-03-11
• Results First Posted: 2022-03-14
• Last Update Posted: 2022-03-14

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 121

Inclusion Criteria

• 18+ years old
• Fluent in English
• Mental health provider (including, but not limited to licensed practicing counselors, licensed clinical social workers, licensed marital and family therapists, clinical/counseling psychologists, pre-doctoral psychology interns, third-year or greater graduate practicum students/externs)
• Currently practicing in an LGBTQ community center that is coordinated by CenterLink, the coordinating hub for LGBTQ community centers in the U.S.

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Exclusion Criteria

• • Individuals unwilling or unable to give informed consent at the time of participation and/or not fitting the eligibility criteria outlined above

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
waitlist control group	LGBTQ-affirmative CBT training	Participants will take part in 11-week LGBTQ-affirmative CBT training via Zoom for 1-hour per week. The participants in the waitlist control group will take part in the second 11-week course.
immediate training group	LGBTQ-affirmative CBT training	Participants will take part in 11-week LGBTQ-affirmative CBT training via Zoom for 1-hour per week. The participants in the immediate training group will take part in the first 11-week course.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Use of LGBTQ-Affirmative CBT Skills	Four-month Pre-intervention, Immediate Pre-intervention, Immediate Post-intervention, Four-month Post-intervention	Use LGBTQ-affirmative CBT skills will be measured using a self-developed questionnaire by the researchers for the purpose of this study. This questionnaire consists of 7 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale for each item. An overall score of 35 (sum of all items) would be the highest possible score on the questionnaire and would indicate a high level of use of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT skills.
Familiarity With LGBTQ-Affirmative CBT Skills	Four-month Pre-intervention, Immediate Pre-intervention, Immediate Post-intervention, Four-month Post-intervention	Familiarity with LGBTQ-affirmative CBT skills will be measured using a self-developed questionnaire by the researchers for the purpose of this study. This questionnaire consists of 7 items rated on a 5-point Likert scale for each item. An overall score of 35 (sum of all items) would be the highest possible score on the questionnaire and would indicate a high level of familiarity with LGBTQ-affirmative CBT skills.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Acceptability of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT Training	Immediate Post-intervention	Acceptability of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT will measured using a self-developed questionnaire by the researchers based on past research on training acceptability. Participants will be asked to report how many of the 11 training sessions they attended. Participants will then be asked 2 qualitative questions in regard to which of the 11 training sessions they found most and least helpful. Participants will also be asked 7 questions based on a 5-point Likert scale regarding their interest and perceived benefit from the training. An overall score of 35 (sum of all items) on the Likert scale items would be the highest possible score on the measure and would indicate a high level of perceived acceptability of the LGBTQ-affirmative CBT training.
Self-Reported LGBTQ Clinical Skills Competency	Four-month Pre-intervention, Immediate Pre-intervention, Immediate Post-intervention, Four-month Post-intervention	Competency in LGBTQ clinical skills will be measured using the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale (SOCCS) - Clinical Skills subscale. This subscale consists of 11-items from a psychometrically validated measure, based on a 7-point Likert scale assessing the extent to which respondents endorse clinical competence as related to their skills in working with clients of diverse sexual identities. For the present study, items have been adapted to specifically assess competence in clinical skills based on an LGBTQ-affirmative CBT framework. An overall score of 7 (arithmetic mean of all 11 items) would be the highest possible score and would indicate a high level of competence in LGBTQ clinical skills.
Applied LGBTQ Clinical Skills Competency	Four-month Pre-intervention, Immediate Pre-intervention, Immediate Post-intervention, Four-month Post-intervention	Competency in LGBTQ clinical skills will be measured by asking participants to provide responses to videos of fictional LGBTQ clients. Participants will watch 2 brief video clips (90 seconds each) of fictional clients presenting concerns they would like to address in psychotherapy. Participants will then be asked to write a brief paragraph describing what clinical approaches they would use in clinical treatment in order to address the challenges discussed by the fictional client. These written responses will be rated based on 22 items on a 2-point scale of 0 (did not mention at all), 1 (briefly discussed), and 2 (discussed in detail) to determine participants' LGBTQ-affirmative and general CBT skills. Items coded related to LGBTQ-affirmative CBT skills will not be double coded in the comparable items related to general CBT skills. Average scores will be taken such that 2 would be the highest possible score and would indicate a high level of competence in LGBTQ clinical skills.
Applied CBT Clinical Skills Competency	Four-month Pre-intervention, Immediate Pre-intervention, Immediate Post-intervention, Four-month Post-intervention	Competency in general CBT clinical skills will be measured by asking participants to provide responses to videos of fictional LGBTQ clients. Participants will watch 2 brief video clips (90 seconds each) of fictional clients presenting concerns they would like to address in psychotherapy. Participants will then be asked to write a brief paragraph describing what clinical approaches they would use in clinical treatment in order to address the challenges discussed by the fictional client. These written responses will be rated based on 22 items on a 2-point scale of 0 (did not mention at all), 1 (briefly discussed), and 2 (discussed in detail) to determine participants' LGBTQ-affirmative and general CBT skills. Items coded related to LGBTQ-affirmative CBT skills will not be double coded in the comparable items related to general CBT skills. Average scores will be taken such that 2 would be the highest possible score and would indicate a high level of competence in CBT clinical skills.
LGBTQ Cultural Humility	Four-month Pre-intervention, Immediate Pre-intervention, Immediate Post-intervention, Four-month Post-intervention	LGBTQ cultural humility will be measured using the Multidimensional Cultural Humility Scale (MCHS). This questionnaire is a 15-item self-report psychometrically validated measure assessing the extent to which respondents endorse an ability to maintain an other-oriented, interpersonal stance in relation to cultural identities most salient to clients. For the present study, items were adapted to specifically assess cultural humility as related to working with LGBTQ clients. An overall score of 90 (sum of all items) would be the highest possible score on the questionnaire and would indicate a high level of LGBTQ cultural humility.
Content Knowledge of Minority Stress	Four-month Pre-intervention, Immediate Pre-intervention, Immediate Post-intervention, Four-month Post-Intervention	Content knowledge of minority stress will be measured using a self-developed, 10-item multiple-choice measure by the researchers for the purpose of this study and based on past minority stress research. An overall score of 10 (i.e., answering all 10-items correctly) would be the highest possible score on the measure and would indicate a high level of content knowledge of minority stress.
Content Knowledge of CBT/LGBTQ-Affirmative CBT	Four-month Pre-intervention, Immediate Pre-intervention, Immediate Post-intervention, Four-month Post-intervention	Content knowledge of CBT/LGBTQ-affirmative CBT will be measured using a self-developed, 10-item multiple-choice measure by the researchers for the purpose of this study based on past interventional studies of LGBTQ-affirmative CBT. An overall score of 10 (i.e., answering all 10-items correctly) would be the highest possible score on the measure and would indicate a high level of content knowledge of CBT/LGBTQ-affirmative CBT.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Yale LGBTQ+ Mental Health Initiative - Research Lab; 🇺🇸 New York, New York, United States