IPC for University Counseling Centers

September 6, 2023 updated by: Johns Hopkins University

Interpersonal Counseling (IPC) for University Counseling Centers

Interpersonal Counseling (IPC) is brief, structured modification of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). IPC was developed as a brief triage manual to treat depression in primary care, family practice and non-mental health programs, and work and educational settings. College and university students are at the age where first episodes of depression, bipolar disorder, or psychosis may occur. IPC is relevant for this population as many university students' distress are related to profound life changes, role transitions, loneliness and social/cultural isolation, which are focuses of treatment in IPC. While there is considerable evidence for the efficacy of IPT and IPC, this adaptation for university students has not yet been studied. The investigators propose to administer IPC to across several college campuses, and to recruit 20 participants at each counseling center. Participants will receive 3-6 one-hour therapy sessions, and will complete self-report measures of depression, psychosocial functioning, college adjustment, and treatment satisfaction. IPC has the potential to reduce depressive symptoms and prevent presenting symptoms from worsening. For these reasons, developing and testing a brief, yet comprehensive psychosocial intervention for distressed college students has tremendous importance.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) is a short term, evidence-based treatment approach that has shown benefits in treating major depressive disorder as well as other psychiatric conditions. IPT focuses on the patient's current life events, including social and interpersonal functioning, as a means of understanding and treating maladaptive symptoms. Interpersonal Counseling (IPC) is a modification of the Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) protocol. Subsequently, IPC was developed as a brief intervention for depression to be used in primary care, family practice and non-mental health programs, educational and work settings. IPC is a treatment approach ready for dissemination and implementation by non-mental health workers who have direct contact with individuals at risk for depression and other pathologies. IPC has been used for efficient training, for preventative and screening purposes in doctor's offices, schools, community based centers and organizations.

IPC synthesizes the fundamental principles of IPT into 3-6 sessions. Individuals receiving IPC are initially assessed for symptoms of pathology, and then encouraged to identify interpersonal problem areas which may be contributing to their presenting symptoms. The key principles and techniques standard to IPT are also applied in IPC, so that the protocol can act not only as an assessment tool, but also as a brief intervention. After identifying an interpersonal problem area, the IPC clinician works with the client to mobilize social support and rehearse more effective communication strategies. Once the IPC protocol is completed, clinical decisions can be made regarding clients' need for follow-up psychotherapy or alternative referrals.

Over the last decade, college and university counseling centers are reporting that students are seeking psychiatric services under more distress and with more severe disorders. College-age students are generally at increased risk for experiencing psychopathology; they are at the age where first episodes of depression, bipolar disorder, or psychosis often occur. Secondly, college students are often away from their social and family networks for the first time, and may experience less instrumental social support when experiencing periods of psychological distress. To date, most college counseling centers conduct psychological assessments of students presenting for services and provide supportive counseling, often for a finite number of sessions due to the heavy volume of student referrals. For these reasons, it is important to have a brief, yet comprehensive protocol for screening and intervening with distressed college students. Such protocols should be structured and accessible to implementation by a range of professionals: clinical social workers or psychologists, practicum students and interns training in these fields. IPC, a systematic, brief evaluation, support and triage approach may help university counseling centers in both their treatment and intervention.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
42

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Canada
      • Toronto, Canada
        • University of Toronto
  • United States
    • Maryland
      • Baltimore, Maryland, United States, 21218
        • Homewood Counseling Center
    • Massachusetts
      • Amherst, Massachusetts, United States, 01002
        • Amherst College Counseling Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 40 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18-40 years old
  • Currently receiving counseling at one of the study locations
  • Adjustment disorder with depressed mood or mild to moderate depression which correlates with a Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score of 5-14.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnancy.
  • Non-English speaking
  • Poses a significant risk for dangerousness to self or others, or suffers from a concomitant medical or psychiatric comorbidity that makes the study protocol inadvisable (i.e., post-traumatic stress disorder, autism, psychotic disorder, bipolar I or II disorder, eating disorder, alcohol or substance abuse or current use)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Interpersonal Counseling-C
Interpersonal Counseling for University Counseling Centers is a psychotherapeutic intervention
Other: Interpersonal Counseling for University Counseling Centers
Interpersonal Counseling (IPC) is a brief version of Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). IPC synthesizes the fundamental IPT principles into 3-6 sessions. Individuals receiving IPC are initially assessed for symptoms of depression, and then encouraged to identify interpersonal problem areas which may be contributing to their presenting symptoms.
Other Names:
  • IPC-C

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Retention rate
Time Frame: One year
Retention rate will be assessed by calculating the number of participants who completed the study compared to the number of participants who enrolled in the study
One year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Satisfaction questionnaire
Time Frame: Participants complete a satisfaction questionnaire when they have completed the study (maximum of 3 months)
Assess satisfaction of IPC-C via a 9 question, 7 point likert satisfaction scale questionnaire. High satisfaction with IPC will be evidenced by average scores of 6 on a 7 point satisfaction scale
Participants complete a satisfaction questionnaire when they have completed the study (maximum of 3 months)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Johns Hopkins University

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University of Toronto
Amherst College

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Leslie Miller, MD, Johns Hopkins University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
February 10, 2017

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
August 30, 2023

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
August 30, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
May 23, 2017

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
August 17, 2017

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
August 21, 2017

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
September 7, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
September 6, 2023

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • IRB00119669

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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