Efficacy of Family Constellations in the General Population

Efficacy of Family / Systemic Constellation Therapy in the General Population. A Randomized Wait-list Controlled Trial

The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy of systemic / family constellation therapy in improving mild-moderate psychopathological symptoms and overall wellbeing in the general population. Given the limited amount of evidence on this therapeutic method, special attention will be given to monitor potential adverse outcomes to establish intervention safety. The study will use a randomized, wait-list controlled design and a 6-month follow-up time. This is the second study of this nature following a similar study from Germany.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Mild to Moderate Psychopathological Symptoms
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Family / systemic constellation therapy

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 80
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Hungary
  • Budapest, Hungary
    • Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Ability to participate in the in-person intervention on the date randomly assigned to them

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participation in family / systemic constellation therapy within the 12 months prior to study launch
• Current mental disorder diagnosed by an eligible health care professional

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group; Study participants participating in family constellation therapy between assessment 1 and 2.	Behavioral: Family / systemic constellation therapy; Family / systemic constellation therapy is a short-term group counseling intervention aiming to help clients better understand and resolve their conflicts within their personal systems, which in turn might lead to a decrease in psychopathological or functional somatic symptoms. The personal system addressed is most often the family but other inter- or intrapersonal systems (e.g., ego parts, victim-perpetrator dyads) can also be the target of the intervention.
No Intervention: Wait-list control group; Study participants participating in family constellation therapy only after all 3 assessment points.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Brief Symptom Inventory scores	The Brief Symptom Inventory is a a broad-spectrum measure of psychopathology covering 9 symptom dimensions: Somatization, Obsessive-compulsive symptoms, Interpersonal sensitivity, Depression, Anxiety, Hostility, Phobic anxiety, Paranoid ideation, and Psychoticism. The BSI also includes a global index of distress (the General Severity Index, GSI) that reflects the mean of all items.	1 month post-intervention
Change in Brief Symptom Inventory scores	The Brief Symptom Inventory is a a broad-spectrum measure of psychopathology covering 9 symptom dimensions: Somatization, Obsessive-compulsive symptoms, Interpersonal sensitivity, Depression, Anxiety, Hostility, Phobic anxiety, Paranoid ideation, and Psychoticism. The BSI also includes a global index of distress (the General Severity Index, GSI) that reflects the mean of all items.	6 month post-intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in eating disorder risk assessed by the SCOFF screening test	The SCOFF consists of five yes-or-no type questions assessing eating disorder symptoms or risk factors. Higher scores (ranging between 0 and 5) are indicative of greater risk. At least two positive answers (score of 2) indicate a high likelihood of an eating disorder.	1 month post-intervention
Change in eating disorder risk assessed by the SCOFF screening test	The SCOFF consists of five yes-or-no type questions assessing eating disorder symptoms or risk factors. Higher scores (ranging between 0 and 5) are indicative of greater risk. At least two positive answers (score of 2) indicate a high likelihood of an eating disorder.	6 month post-intervention
Change in substance- and behavioral addiction severity using an abbreviated, 8-item version of the Screener for Substance and Behavioral Addictions (SSBA-S)	The SSBA-S is a short screening instrument for measuring self-attributed addiction problems in the general population. The SSBA-S is comprised of four self-report item stems, each reflecting a distinct sign or symptom of potentially problematic involvement in either substance-related or behavioral addictions ("I did it too much;" "Once I started, I couldn't stop;" "I felt I had to do it in order to function;" and "I continued to do it, even though it caused problems"). Scores range between 4 and 28 both for substance-related and behavioral addictions with higher scores indicative of higher problem severity.	1 month post-intervention
Change in substance- and behavioral addiction severity using an abbreviated, 8-item version of the Screener for Substance and Behavioral Addictions (SSBA-S)	The SSBA-S is a short screening instrument for measuring self-attributed addiction problems in the general population. The SSBA-S is comprised of four self-report item stems, each reflecting a distinct sign or symptom of potentially problematic involvement in either substance-related or behavioral addictions ("I did it too much;" "Once I started, I couldn't stop;" "I felt I had to do it in order to function;" and "I continued to do it, even though it caused problems"). Scores range between 4 and 28 both for substance-related and behavioral addictions with higher scores indicative of higher problem severity.	6 month post-intervention
Change in quality of life specific to interpersonal relationships using the Experience in Personal Social Systems Questionnaire (EXIS.pers)	The EXIS.pers assesses the subjective experiences of the individual in their personal social system (e.g. family, circle of friends) covering four dimensions in relation to belonging, autonomy, accord, and confidence. Scores range between 12 and 72 with higher scores are indicative of better functioning.	1 month post-intervention
Change in quality of life specific to interpersonal relationships using the Experience in Personal Social Systems Questionnaire (EXIS.pers)	The EXIS.pers assesses the subjective experiences of the individual in their personal social system (e.g. family, circle of friends) covering four dimensions in relation to belonging, autonomy, accord, and confidence. Scores range between 12 and 72 with higher scores are indicative of better functioning.	6 month post-intervention
Change in perceived level of meaning in life using the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ)	The MLQ assesses both the presence of and search for meaning in a respondent's life. The scale consists of 10 items (5 items measuring both subconstructs). In both cases, scores range between 5 and 35 but while in the case of presence of meaning, higher scores indicate better functioning; in the case of search for meaning, higher scores are indicative of poorer mental health.	1 month post-intervention
Change in perceived level of meaning in life using the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ)	The MLQ assesses both the presence of and search for meaning in a respondent's life. The scale consists of 10 items (5 items measuring both subconstructs). In both cases, scores range between 5 and 35 but while in the case of presence of meaning, higher scores indicate better functioning; in the case of search for meaning, higher scores are indicative of poorer mental health.	6 month post-intervention
Change in life satisfaction using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)	The SWLS is a measure of general satisfaction with one's life. Scores range from 5 to 35 with higher scores indicative of higher life satisfaction.	1 month post-intervention
Change in life satisfaction using the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)	The SWLS is a measure of general satisfaction with one's life. Scores range from 5 to 35 with higher scores indicative of higher life satisfaction.	6 month post-intervention
Change in general well-being using the 5-item version of the WHO Wellbeing Index (WBI-5)	The WBI-5 measures participants' overall subjective well-being. Scores range between 0 and 15 with higher scores indicative of greater well-being.	1 month post-intervention
Change in general well-being using the 5-item version of the WHO Wellbeing Index (WBI-5)	The WBI-5 measures participants' overall subjective well-being. Scores range between 0 and 15 with higher scores indicative of greater well-being.	6 month post-intervention
Qualitative responses on the perceived effects of the intervention will also be collected both in terms of positive and negative perceived effects using open ended, ad hoc questions.	Four open-ended questions will be asked from respondents, one covering each of the following domains: positive changes in interpersonal life, positive changes in health, negative changes in interpersonal life, and negative changes in health.	1 month post-intervention
Qualitative responses on the perceived effects of the intervention will also be collected both in terms of positive and negative perceived effects using open ended, ad hoc questions	Four open-ended questions will be asked from respondents, one covering each of the following domains: positive changes in interpersonal life, positive changes in health, negative changes in interpersonal life, and negative changes in health.	6 month post-intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Károli Gáspár University of the Reformed Church in Hungary
• Collaborators: University of Toronto

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Konkoly Thege B, Petroll C, Rivas C, Scholtens S. The Effectiveness of Family Constellation Therapy in Improving Mental Health: A Systematic Review. Fam Process. 2021 Jun;60(2):409-423. doi: 10.1111/famp.12636. Epub 2021 Feb 2.
• Weinhold J, Hunger C, Bornhauser A, Link L, Rochon J, Wild B, Schweitzer J. Family constellation seminars improve psychological functioning in a general population sample: results of a randomized controlled trial. J Couns Psychol. 2013 Oct;60(4):601-9. doi: 10.1037/a0033539. Epub 2013 Aug 19.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 19, 2021
• Primary Completion (Actual): April 25, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): April 25, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 9, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 10, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): September 21, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 24, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 22, 2022
• Last Verified: August 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: BTK/591-1/2021

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

IPD Plan Description

The authors are concerned that making individual participant data available to others would seriously jeopardize participants' willingness to participate in the study.

Therefore, the authors offer that they will conduct any alternative analyses on the data set other researchers are interested in and the authors will share the raw output of those analyses including the analytical syntaxes.

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No