Digital Self-efficacy Training to Bridge Waiting Times for Psychotherapy

The main aim of this project is to improve waiting periods for specialised psychotherapy. We will apply a brief, smartphone-based self-efficacy training to patients with psychiatric disorders waiting for specialised psychotherapy. Additionally, we will use Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) to assess mood, social contacts, and other parameters daily. We will investigate whether the training can improve self-efficacy and related constructs and if it can help reduce stress and waitlist drop-outs during waiting periods. Additionally, we will investigate if the self-efficacy training has a positive effect on motivation and therapeutical relationship regarding the subsequent therapy. After a screening for eligibility, participants will be randomly assigned to intervention and control group. At baseline, participants attend a laboratory session where they are assessed for current psychiatric disorders and further relevant psychological variables. They will then either participate in the digital self-efficacy training combined with EMA (intervention group) or in EMA only (control group). Both will be conducted via a smartphone app. Subsequently, participants will be asked to fill in post questionnaires at three different time points: after having finished app usage, one month later, and after the beginning of the subsequent psychotherapy.

NCT Number	NCT05560581
Lead Sponsor	Psychiatric University Hospital, Zurich
Conditions	Psychiatric Disorder, Waiting for Psychotherapy
Enrollment	94 participants
Start Date	2022-11-07
Primary Completion	2025-11 (estimated)
Study Completion	2025-11 (estimated)
Updated on ClinicalTrials.gov	2025-03-04