Teletherapy Programs for Brain Injury and Emotional Health

This study is comparing two different teletherapy programs to see which one is better at helping people who have had a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), also known as a concussion. The programs aim to improve emotional health, especially for those who have difficulty recognizing and expressing emotions (alexithymia) and managing their feelings. Program 1 teaches you how to understand and manage your emotions, while Program 2 focuses on improving overall brain health and setting personal goals. The study is looking for 300 participants aged 18 or older who had an mTBI at least six months ago and have emotional difficulties. Success will be measured by changes in how participants identify and regulate their emotions. The current recruitment status is unclear.

Study design
This interventional study plans to enroll 300 participants. It compares two behavioral programs delivered remotely.
What's involved
You would participate for about 8 months total, with 4 assessment visits and 8 one-on-one training sessions. The training sessions are about 60-90 minutes each, completed over approximately one month.
Compensation
Not stated in the trial record.
Follow-up
You will have assessment visits immediately after treatment, and then at 3 months and 6 months post-treatment.

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NCT07436754

Clinical Trial Comparing the Efficacy of Two Teletherapy Programs at Improving Psychological Health in People With Brain Injury

Recruiting
NAAges 18+InterventionalTreatment
Hackensack Meridian Health
~300 participants
Updated 2026-06-12 on ClinicalTrials.gov
What's tested:Program 1Program 2

At a glance

Recruiting sites
2 of 3 listed sites are recruiting right now
RecruitingSuspended, closed, or not yet open
What they're measuring
Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20
Measured over 1) baseline 2) immediate post-treatment, 3) 3 months post-treatment; 4) 6- months post-treatment.
+1 more outcome measured
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Alexithymia
3 sites across 3 states
Indiana1
Maryland1
New Jersey1
  • Dawn Neumann, PhD, FACRM · PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR · Hackensack Meridian Health

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Eligibility criteria

Inclusion

Mild TBI
≥18 years old
≥6 months post-TBI
Elevated alexithymia and emotion dysregulation
Capacity to consent
Speaks and understands English
Personal device capable of video conferencing and internet

Exclusion

Premorbid neurological disorder other than TBI
Degenerative neurologic condition
Active or uncontrolled major psychiatric disorder
Conditions that pose safety concern to self or others, such as suicide risk
Previous psychiatric hospitalization
Visual, hearing, communication, or cognitive impairments that would impede participation
Unstable medications (e.g., started \< 6 weeks prior to enrollment) or anticipated medication changes that will influence mood/ affect during study participation
Active involvement in an intensive rehabilitation program
Individuals who recently started psychotherapy and/or mental health counseling (e.g., \<3 months prior)
  • Toronto Alexithymia Scale-201) baseline 2) immediate post-treatment, 3) 3 months post-treatment; 4) 6- months post-treatment.

    his widely used alexithymia assessment (including the TBI population), is comprised of 3 factors: 1) ability to identify emotions); 2) ability to describe emotions; and 3) externally-oriented thinking. In addition to being a co-primary outcome measure, the TAS-20 scores will be used to determine eligibility (\>.5 SD above published means). It is a CDE and a PhenX toolkit measure has good psychometric properties, including good test-retest reliability. Range: Min/ Max = 20 to 100 Lower scores indicate less alexithymia (good); higher scores indicate greater alexithymia (bad)

  • Difficulty with Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Co-Primary outcome)1) baseline 2) immediate post-treatment, 3) 3 months; 4) 6- months

    This commonly used measure of emotion dysregulation, uses a 5-point Likert scale, participants rate the frequency they utilize self-regulation behaviors in response to general emotional distress. Items are summed to provide a Total Emotion Dysregulation score. The DERS has high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and good construct validity.56 Will be used to evaluate emotion dysregulation and to determine eligibility (\>.5 SD above published means). Range: Min/ Max = 36 to 180. Lower scores indicate less dysregulation (good); higher scores indicate more dysregulation (bad)