Process-Based Approach Case Series For Anxiety Problems (PBT)

June 10, 2026 updated by: Nicholas C. Borgogna, University of Alabama at Birmingham

PBT For Anxiety Problems

A case series of PBA intervention for anxiety problems.

Study Overview

Status

Status

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

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

Participants will self-refer to this study by emailing a research assistant (Mr. Whittington).

They will then attend a screening session where they complete an informed consent form and are assessed for inclusion/exclusion criteria. During the screening the research assistant will conduct a clinical interview and collaboratively identify hypothetical processes (e.g. avoidance) that might be contributing to the participants anxiety symptoms. Together, they will identify 8-items from the process-based assessment tool (see survey) that might be relevant to the participants anxiety.

Participants will then complete a baseline survey battery on a lab computer (via Qualtrics; ~20 minutes).

Participants will then complete a two-week assessment period where they complete brief (<2 minute) surveys five times a day (approximately 9 am, noon, 2 pm, 5 pm, and 8 pm) each day for the two weeks. These surveys will be sent to participants' phone via Qualtrics. These surveys will be the 8-items identified during the intake session, with one additional item assessing momentary anxiety and an additional item assessed momentary quality of life perception.

The research team will use the data gathered during the two-week assessment period to create personalized networks of processes leading to participant anxiety symptoms. Each participants' network will guide their therapy treatment.

Participants will then attend up to 25 sessions of counseling for their anxiety. Sessions will occur roughly weekly and will last approximately 50 minutes. All sessions will occur in Dr. Borgogna's lab and clinic space (Campbell Hall Ste 310) on the UAB campus. The therapists in the study will all be masters-level clinicians in the UAB medical/clinical psychology program preparing for licensure (Mr. Whittington, Mr. Johnson, and Ms. Jafari) or a licensed clinical psychologist (Dr. Borgogna). Therapy sessions for pre-licensed clinicians will be recorded onto a UAB computer in Dr. Borgogna's lab and reviewed for supervision purposes by Dr. Borgogna (A/V recordings not for research purposes). Recordings will be deleted within 30 days of each therapy session.

Participants will complete the main battery again at post-test.

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 (Estimated)

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.
10

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.
  • Name: Damion D Whittinton, MS
  • Phone Number: (205) 934-3850
  • Email: whitdrew@uab.edu

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Alabama
      • Birmingham, Alabama, United States, 35233
        • Recruiting
        • University of Alabama at Birmingham Dr. Borgogna's lab
        • Contact:
        • Contact:
          • Drew Whittington MS (Research Coordinator), MS
          • Phone Number: (205) 934-3850
          • Email: whitdrew@uab.edu
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Nicholas C Borgogna, PhD

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Score on GAD-7 >10 at baseline
  • Access to mobile device

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current psychotherapy treatment
  • Current/past severe psychopathology (e.g., history of psychosis, suicide attempt or self-injury within the past 12 months, narcotics use within the past 3 months)

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: Process-based approach
PBA therapy
Behavioral: Process-Based Approach
Process-Based Approaches (PBA) were developed to improve psychotherapy outcomes. Early writings referred to PBA as process-based therapy or process-based cognitive behavioral therapy. The current nomenclature was adopted to distinguish PBA as a unifying approach that incrementally builds on clinical psychological science rather than a manualized treatment protocol. PBA provides a framework for flexibly applying evidence-based techniques from multiple therapeutic traditions to target hypothesized psychological processes that give rise to individual patient presentations. Each patient is conceptualized independently, and intervention structure may vary substantially based on need, while retaining empirically supported tools. This contrasts with disorder-specific treatment manuals, which assume homogeneity despite substantial variability in underlying processes (e.g., anxiety).
Other Names:
  • PBT

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
Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
Anxiety scale
From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
Beck Anxiety Inventory
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
Anxiety Measure
From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.

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
Patient Health Questionnaire-9
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
Depression measure
From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
Experiential Avoidance Rating Scale
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
Experiential avoidance measure
From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
Quality of Life Scale
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
Quality of Life Measure
From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
Big Five Inventory
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
Measure of Personality
From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
PSY-Flex
Time Frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.
Psychological flexibility measure
From enrollment to the end of treatment, up to 25 weeks.

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Process-based assessment tool
Time Frame: Five times a day for two weeks prior to intervention
A collection of hypothetical processes that might be correlated with mental illness outcomes. Selections will be used to inform patient conceptualizations prior to therapy.
Five times a day for two weeks prior to intervention

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.
University of Alabama at Birmingham

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: Nicholas C Borgogna, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

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.
June 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 31, 2029

Study Completion (Estimated)

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.
December 31, 2030

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 9, 2026

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 9, 2026

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 20, 2026

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.
June 12, 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.
June 10, 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.
June 1, 2026

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.
  • IRB-300015520
  • NO FUNDING (Registry Identifier: NO FUNDING)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

De-identified outcome scores will be shared in publication. Raw scores are available upon request to the principal investigator.

IPD Sharing Time Frame

2027-2030

IPD Sharing Access Criteria

PhD-level researchers associated with academic institutions will have access to de-identified spreadsheets and code.

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF
  • ANALYTIC_CODE

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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