Big Feelings: A Study on Children's Emotions in Therapy (NCT05637320)
🩺 Plain-English Summary (8th-Grade Level)
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn about how psychotherapy works for children and adolescents aged 8 - 15 with anxiety, depression, trauma, or disruptive behaviour. The main question it aims to answer is: • Is the biobehavioural regulation of negative emotion a transdiagnostic mechanism of treatment response in psychotherapy for children with anxiety, depression, trauma and/or disruptive behaviour? Children and their parents will be randomly assigned to an evidence-based, transdiagnostic treatment (the Modular Approach to Therapy for Children with Anxiety, Depression, Trauma, and Conduct Problems; MATCH-ADTC) or a waitlist control condition. Participants in both groups will complete a baseline assessment, weekly measures consisting of brief symptom scales and medication tracking, and quarterly assessments every 3 months. Following the intervention/waitlist period, our team will conduct post-test assessments. All assessments, except for the weekly surveys, will consist of symptom scales, clinical interviews, experimental tasks and physiological measures.
Who can join: To join this study, participants generally need to meet the listed inclusion criteria (3 items) and avoid the listed exclusions (5 items).
Location: Maplewoods Centre for Family Therapy and Child Psychology — Guelph, Ontario
📋 "Do I Qualify?" — 1-Minute Self Screener
Instant ChecklistCheck every box below. If you can check all of them, you may meet the study's basic screening requirements (final eligibility is confirmed by the site team).
Usually NOT eligible if any of the following apply:
- Exclusion Criteria:
- Child has low cognitive functioning that would prevent active participation in research tasks
- Child reports active suicidality that requiring acute care or hospital intervention
- Child meets criteria for psychosis, schizophrenia spectrum disorders, eating disorders or autism spectrum disorders
- Child does not assent to participate in the study
🔍 Extracted verbatim from the official NIH eligibility criteria. Always confirm with the study coordinator.
📍 All Participating Trial Locations (2 Sites)
- Maplewoods Centre for Family Therapy and Child Psychology — Guelph, Ontario
- The Centre for Addition and Mental Health — Toronto, Ontario
💰 Cost, Insurance & Patient Rights
- 100% Free Items: The investigational treatment and protocol-required procedures are supplied at zero cost by the sponsor.
- Routine Patient Care: Under federal law (ACA § 2709) and many state statutes, routine care costs are covered during participation.
- Voluntary Participation: You may withdraw at any time without affecting your standard medical care.