Equine Facilitated CBT Group Therapy for Youth Anxiety

Not Applicable

Terminated

• Conditions: Anxiety
• Interventions: Other: WLC; Behavioral: TAU is equine-facilitated group therapy; Behavioral: Augmented equine-facilitated CBT group program

• Registration Number: NCT03838835
• Lead Sponsor: NYU Langone Health

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate a 10-week equine facilitated cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) group program for youth between ages of 6 to 17 with symptoms of anxiety. The program will be delivered at GallopNYC, a stable that provides equine-facilitated group therapy to youth with a range of mental health problems.

Detailed Description

The equine-facilitated group therapy normally provided at GallopNYC (Treatment as Usual, TAU) will be compared to an augmented group program that will include CBT strategies, including psychoeducation to the child and caregiver about anxiety, coping strategies to use when anxious, and identifying and addressing dysfunctional thoughts that maintain anxiety. Seventy-five children between 6 to 17 years of age will be randomized to TAU (equine-facilitated group therapy), the augmented group therapy that contains CBT strategies, or wait list control. Outcomes include anxiety symptoms, self-efficacy,receipt of services, functioning and the child's relationship with the horse.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2018-11-15
• Study First Submitted: 2019-02-11
• Study First Submitted QC: 2019-02-11
• Study First Posted: 2019-02-12
• Primary Completion: 2020-05-26
• Study Completion: 2020-05-26
• Status Verified: 2020-09
• Last Update Submitted: 2020-09-28
• Last Update Posted: 2020-09-30

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: TERMINATED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 59

Inclusion Criteria

• A child aged 6-17 seeking services for anxiety at Gallop NYC, who (based on the screener administered by GallopNYC) evidence symptoms of anxiety (as measured by a score of 2 or more on the GAD 2 item questionnaire) and a minimum functioning score of 51 (as measured by the child global assessment scale)
• Caregivers will also serve as study respondents. To do so, they must meet the following criteria:
• Primary caregiver/ legal guardian of a child who meets eligibility criteria
• Aged 18 years or older
• English speaking

Providers will serve as study therapists. To do so, they must meet the following criteria:

• PATH-certified provider employed at Gallop NYC

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Exclusion Criteria

• Inability to provide informed consent
• Child does not meet criteria for anxiety symptoms (as measured by a score of 2 or more on the GAD 2 item questionnaire) and/or does not meet minimum level of functioning (does not meet a minimum functioning score of 51 as measured by the child global assessment scale)

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Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Wait List Control (WLC)	WLC	-
Equine-facilitated group therapy	TAU is equine-facilitated group therapy	-
Augmented equine-facilitated CBT group program	Augmented equine-facilitated CBT group program	-

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Anxiety, as measured by the SCARED	Baseline to 10 Weeks	41 item questionnaire scored on a 3-point Likert Scale ranging from "not true" to "very true." Items are summed, with higher scores indicating more anxiety symptoms (a cutoff of 25 indicates an anxiety disorder).

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

NYU Langone Health; 🇺🇸 New York, New York, United States