Project CARE: An Integrated Treatment Adherence Program for Bipolar Disorder at the Time of Prison Release - Open Trial

January 12, 2026 updated by: Brown University

Project CARE (Community Treatment Adherence at Re-Entry): An Integrated Treatment Adherence Program for Bipolar Disorder at the Time of Prison Release - Open Trial

The aim of this program of research is to develop and pilot the CARE (Community treatment Adherence at Re-Entry) program, an adjunctive intervention for incarcerated individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) transitioning from prison to the community.

The purpose of this proposed project is to establish the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of this newly developed intervention on symptom outcomes.

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

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a serious, disabling, and highly recurrent illness that is disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. BD increases risk for several adverse outcomes for prisoners, including mood instability, suicide attempts, substance use relapse, and high rates of repeat incarceration. Despite these serious negative consequences, up to 70% of prisoners with BD do not receive mental health treatment upon prison release. Lack of engagement in ongoing mental health treatment for BD upon community re-entry represents one potent factor that perpetuates risk for adverse outcomes, and consequences of untreated BD (e.g., impulsivity, substance use) may greatly exacerbate difficulties in establishing stable living conditions (e.g., adequate housing, legal employment) at community re-entry. Thus, there is a critical need for interventions to facilitate engagement with treatment for BD during this vulnerable transition.

To that end, the primary aim of this study is to develop and establish the feasibility and acceptability of the Community treatment Adherence at Re-Entry (CARE) program. CARE is an innovative intervention that will combine evidence-based cognitive-behavioral, family, and telephone outreach strategies to promote treatment engagement and improve clinical outcomes for prisoners with BD during the period of community re-entry. CARE will include 3 individual and 1 family session, followed by 11 brief telephone contacts for up to 6 months post-release. Given its moderate intensity, adjunctive nature, use of community mental health counselors, and use of telephone administration for post-release follow-up, CARE has been designed with an eye toward community implementation. Its proposed mechanisms of action (i.e., increasing values-action consistency, enhancing social supports, and linkage to community treatment services) are further well matched to the practical and clinical needs of re-entering individuals.

The aim of this research is to conduct a small open trial (n=12) of the CARE intervention. Assessments will occur at baseline, immediately pre-release, 4 weeks post-release, and 24 weeks post-release (post-treatment). This study will examine the feasibility and acceptability of CARE (e.g., uptake, adherence to, and completion of the CARE intervention, satisfaction with the intervention, understanding of intervention principles) and of this research design. This study will also examine treatment effects (within relevant confidence intervals) on outcomes (e.g., mood symptoms). Change in potential mechanisms (i.e., values-action consistency derived from intervention principles) will be examined.

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.
18

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 Locations

  • United States
    • Rhode Island
      • Cranston, Rhode Island, United States, 02920
        • Rhode Island Department of Corrections
      • Providence, Rhode Island, United States, 02912
        • Brown University

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 and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • DSM-5 diagnosis of bipolar I, bipolar II, or bipolar disorder not elsewhere classified
  • Anticipated prison release within 4-10 weeks
  • Expected release to locations anywhere within RI or to locations in other states within a 30 mile radius of Providence
  • Aged 18 or older
  • Willingness to sign an informed consent document that describes study procedures

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of current psychiatric symptoms severe enough to warrant separation from the general prison population
  • Cognitive impairment sufficient to prevent successful completion of the baseline interview.
  • Inability to understand sufficiently well to understand the consent form or assessment instruments when they are read aloud.

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: Treatment
  • 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: Community treatment Adherence at Re-Entry (CARE)

CARE will begin within the 2 months before prison release, and will continue for 6 months after re-entry. CARE will be comprised of: a) 3 individual sessions with the CARE counselor; b) 1 optional family/significant other (SO) session; and c) 11 brief (15-20 min) follow-up telephone contacts with prisoners and their SO over the first 6 months post-release.

The CARE intervention will incorporate motivational strategies from existing interventions (e.g., Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) in order to clarify values and goals to enhance motivation for community treatment engagement and behavior change. CARE will also integrate bipolar disorder psychoeducation and strategies from existing family models of intervention for BD (e.g., McMaster Model of Family Functioning) that are designed to improve family communication, social support, and problem-solving around BD illness management over this vulnerable transition period.
Behavioral: CARE
Hybrid in-person and telephone-based adjunctive intervention for bipolar disorder across the transition from prison to the community.

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
Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8)
Time Frame: 24 weeks post-release
Intervention feasibility and acceptability. Total Client Satisfaction Questionnaire-8 (CSQ-8) scores range from 8 to 32 with higher scores indicating higher levels of satisfaction.
24 weeks post-release

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
Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology - Self-Report (QIDS-SR)
Time Frame: 24 weeks post-release
Depressive symptom severity. Total QIDS-SR depressive symptom severity scores range from 0 to 27 with higher scores indicating more severe depressive symptoms.
24 weeks post-release
Altman Self-Rating Scale for Mania (ASRM)
Time Frame: 24 weeks post-release
Manic symptom severity. Total Altman Self-Rating Scale for Mania (ASRM) manic symptom severity scores range from 0 to 20 with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms of mania.
24 weeks post-release

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.
Brown 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.
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

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: Lauren Weinstock, PhD, Brown 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.
January 14, 2019

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.
January 15, 2020

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.
January 15, 2020

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).
January 30, 2019

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.
January 30, 2019

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.
January 31, 2019

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.
January 28, 2026

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.
January 12, 2026

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.
February 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

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.
  • 1806002090
  • R34MH117198 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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.

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings