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Crohn DiseaseNCT05377840

Use of Psychologist-administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Self-administered CBT for the Treatment of Anxiety and/or Depression in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

A study testing Psychologist-administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Self-Administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in people with Crohn Disease and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), run by Yale University at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This is a prospective, single center, randomized treatment study to assess if anxiety and depression in participants with IBD can be improved with CBT compared to those treated with SKY. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Crohn Disease, Ulcerative Colitis (UC)
What is being tested?
Psychologist-administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Self-Administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
13 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
5 Jul 2022to 6 Jun 2026
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • verified inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis)
  • IBD patients on a stable treatment regimen with no evidence of active intestinal inflammation based on either normal c-reactive protein and/or fecal calprotectin, imaging studies, or endoscopy who meet the criteria for anxiety or depression based on the screening questionnaires
  • subjects who have been on stable doses of anxiety and/or depression medications (defined as no dose adjustment in the prior 12 weeks) at the screening visit who meet the criteria for anxiety and/or depression based on screening questionnaires and are willing to stay on the same dose of these medications throughout the study duration
  • may meet the criteria for both anxiety and depression and cohort assignment will be based on the survey with the highest scores suggesting more severe symptoms

Who cannot join

  • declines to participate for the full duration of the study
  • evidence of active intestinal inflammation based on an elevated c-reactive protein and/or fecal calprotectin, imaging studies or endoscopy
  • non-English speaker
  • any subject who expresses suicidal ideation or has severe mental illness as they will be taken to the emergency room for urgent psychiatric care

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Yale New Haven Hospital

    New Haven, Connecticut, 06520

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Effect Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in the Treatment of Anxiety and Depression in Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

This is a prospective, single center, randomized treatment study to assess if anxiety and depression in participants with IBD can be improved with CBT compared to those treated with SKY.

Read the detailed description

This is a prospective, single center, randomized treatment study, where participants will be screened for anxiety and depression in an inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) population using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Participants with GAD scores of ≥8 will be considered to have anxiety and those with a PHQ score of ≥10 will be considered to have depression. All participants with screening questionnaire scores positive for anxiety or depression will be randomized to treatment with either cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with a clinical psychologist (virtual visits) or CBT using a book written for IBD patients. The GAD and PHQ surveys will be repeated post treatment at weeks 6, 12 and 24. The primary objective of this study is to assess for an improvement in GAD and PHQ scores among subjects treated with CBT comparing 2 modalities of CBT. The secondary objectives are to assess for improvements in health-related quality of life, based on short IBD Questionnaire scores; assess for improvement in pain scores, based on the Brief Pain Inventory Short Form; and assess for improvement in fatigue scores based on the FACIT-Fatigue Scale, among subjects with poor scores at baseline following treatment with CBT.

Being tested
Psychologist-administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Self-Administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Keywords
anxiety, depression
Medical subject headings
Crohn Disease, Colitis, Ulcerative, Anxiety Disorders, Depression

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Psychologist-administered Cognitive Behavioral TherapyBehavioural

    CBT is a combined psycho-social intervention that aims to improve overall mental health focusing on developing coping strategies. For psychologist-administered CBT: Participants will have individual weekly sessions (virtually) lasting 60 minutes each over an 8-week period with 1 follow-up maintenance session at week 12.

  • Self-Administered Cognitive Behavioral TherapyBehavioural

    CBT is a combined psycho-social intervention that aims to improve overall mental health focusing on developing coping strategies. For self-administered CBT: Participants will be given a book written for patients on CBT for IBD with instructions on how to self-administer CBT.

Study groups in NCT05377840
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Psychologist-administered Cognitive Behavioral TherapyActive comparatorParticipants in this arm will participate in psychologist-administered CBT to assess the impact it will have on anxiety or depression among patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Receives: Behavioral: Psychologist-administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Self-administered Cognitive Behavioral TherapyExperimentalParticipants in this arm will be given a patient education book that teaches how to self-administer cognitive behavioral therapy to assess the impact it will have on anxiety or depression among patients with inflammatory bowel disease
Receives: Behavioral: Self-Administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Change from baseline in anxiety scores using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire

    Change from baseline in anxiety using GAD-7 compared to week 6, week 12 and week 24 (post treatment). Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 questionnaire is a 7-item validated questionnaire used to screen for anxiety with a range of scores from 0-3. A cumulative score of ≥8 is considered positive for anxiety with lower scores indicating no or mild anxiety.

    Measured: baseline, week 6, week 12, week 24 and week 52

  2. Change from baseline in depression scores using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)

    Change from baseline in depression using PHQ-9 compared to week 6, week 12 and week 24 (post treatment). PHQ-9 is a 9-item validated questionnaire used to screen for depression with a range of scores from 0-45. A cumulative score of ≥10 is considered positive with lower scores indicating no or mild anxiety.

    Measured: baseline, week 6, week 12, week 24, and week 52

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted17 May 2022
  2. Study start5 Jul 2022
  3. Primary completion6 Jun 2026
  4. Study completion6 Jun 2026

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Model description
In this prospective, single center, randomized treatment study, participants will be screening for anxiety and depression in an inflammatory bowel disease population (Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) questionnaire and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ). Subjects with GAD scores of ≥8 will be considered to have anxiety and those with a PHQ score of ≥10 will be considered to have depression. All subjects with screening questionnaire scores positive for anxiety or depression will be randomized to treatment with either psychologist-administered or self-administered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
13 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT05377840
Sponsor's protocol ID
2000031323
Other IDs
878888
Status last verified
Jun 2026
First submitted
11 May 2022
Last updated
12 Jun 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
Yes
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Tiles-Sar N, Neuser J, de Sordi D, Baltes A, Preiss JC, Moser G, Timmer A. Psychological interventions for treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2025 Apr 17;4(4):CD006913. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006913.pub3.

    PubMed 40243391

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Psychologist-administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Self-Administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in people with Crohn Disease and Ulcerative Colitis (UC), run by Yale University at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 4 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Jun 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Change from baseline in anxiety scores using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) questionnaire (time frame: baseline, week 6, week 12, week 24 and week 52). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT05377840, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Jun 2026.

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