Internet-delivered Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Students: Duration Preference Trial

Internet-delivered Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Post-Secondary Students: Preference Trial for Flexible, 5-Week, and 8-Week Options

There is growing evidence for the effectiveness of internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) for post-secondary students with symptoms of depression and anxiety. In ICBT, clients review structured online content over several weeks to learn strategies and skills to manage their symptoms. Low treatment completion rates remain a concern for post-secondary students, so it is possible that existing treatment protocols do not offer enough flexibility for students' needs and preferences.

This trial will examine students' preferences for different course options (fast-track, 5-week, and 8-week) and compare enrollment, adherence, and outcomes of students who pick each of the three options. In all three options, students will receive optional therapist support, in which the assigned therapist only contacts the student on weeks where the student sends the therapist a message. This trial will help inform the delivery of flexible treatment options for post-secondary students in a routine care setting.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Depression; Anxiety
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Wellbeing Course for Students (Fast Track); Behavioral: Wellbeing Course for Students (5 weeks); Behavioral: Wellbeing Course (8 weeks)

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 200
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Marcie Nugent, MSW; Phone Number: 3063372946; Email: marcie.nugent@uregina.ca
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Heather Hadjistavropoulos, PhD; Phone Number: 3065855133; Email: hadjista@uregina.ca

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Saskatchewan
    • Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada, S4S 0A2
      • Recruiting
      • Online Therapy Unit, University of Regina
      • Contact: Marcie Nugent, MSW; Phone Number: 3063373331; Email: marcie.nugent@uregina.ca
      • Principal Investigator: Heather Hadjistavropoulos, PhD

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• registered as a student at a post-secondary institution in Saskatchewan; over the age of 18; endorse symptoms of depression (score of 5 or greater on the PHQ-9) and/or anxiety (score of 5 or greater on the GAD-7); and be able to access computers and the Internet and be comfortable using them

Exclusion Criteria:

• high risk of suicide or hospitalization for mental health in previous 12 months; unmanaged alcohol or drug use problems; severe psychiatric illness that is not managed (e.g. psychosis or mania); or receiving other psychological services more than twice per month

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Fast-Track Course; Clients who select the Fast-Track Course option will receive access to a single ICBT core lesson and Do-It-Yourself guide, followed by three additional Do-It-Yourself guides that they can access in any order. The content includes examples that are tailored to students' experiences. Clients have access to diverse additional resources (e.g., managing panic, assertive communication) throughout the course. Clients will receive up to five weeks of optional therapist support.	Behavioral: Wellbeing Course for Students (Fast Track); The core Fast-Track lesson includes information on managing their cycle of symptoms, motivation, and an overview of strategies that can be used to manage symptoms of depression and anxiety. After the core lesson, clients can access three additional Do-It-Yourself guides that focus on thought challenging, controlled breathing/activity planning, and behavioural activation/relapse prevention. These materials are able to be accessed out of sequence on a schedule that suits their needs. With optional therapist support, therapists will respond to any messages that clients send once per week. Therapists will not message clients on weeks where the client does not send a message.
Experimental: 5-Week Course; Clients who select the 5-week course will receive access to an ICBT course which consists of four lessons spread across the span of five weeks. The content includes examples that are tailored to students' experiences. Clients have access to diverse additional resources (e.g., managing panic, assertive communication) throughout the course. Clients will receive five weeks of optional therapist support.	Behavioral: Wellbeing Course for Students (5 weeks); The 5-week course consists of four lessons that provide psychoeducation about: symptom identification and the cognitive behavioural model, thought monitoring and challenging, controlled breathing and pleasant activity scheduling, graded exposure, and relapse prevention. With optional therapist support, therapists will respond to any messages that clients send once per week. Therapists will not message clients on weeks where the client does not send a message.
Experimental: 8-Week Course; Clients who select the 8-week course will receive access to an ICBT course which consists of five lessons spread across the span of eight weeks. The content in this course is not student-specific. Clients have access to diverse additional resources (e.g., managing panic, assertive communication) throughout the course. Clients will receive eight weeks of optional therapist support.	Behavioral: Wellbeing Course (8 weeks); The 8-week course consists of five lessons that provide psychoeducation about: symptom identification and the cognitive behavioural model, thought monitoring and challenging, controlled breathing and pleasant activity scheduling, graded exposure, and relapse prevention. With optional therapist support, therapists will respond to any messages that clients send once per week. Therapists will not message clients on weeks where the client does not send a message.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item (PHQ-9)	Change in depression symptoms. 9 items are summed into a total score, with scores ranging from 0 to 27. Higher scores are associated with higher depression severity.	Baseline (screening), weeks 1-5 (Fast-Track and 5-week course), weeks 1-8 (8-week course), and week 16 (all course options)
Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7)	Change in anxiety symptoms. 7 items are summed into a total score ranging from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating more severe self-reported levels of anxiety.	Baseline (screening), weeks 1-5 (Fast-Track and 5-week course), weeks 1-8 (8-week course), and week 16 (all course options)
Perceptions of Academic Functioning (PAF)	Change in subjective academic functioning. 3 items are summed into a total score ranging from 0 to 30, with higher scores indicating higher perceived functioning.	Baseline (screening), weeks 1-5 (Fast-Track and 5-week course), weeks 1-8 (8-week course), and week 16 (all course options)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ)	Measure of treatment credibility. Three items range from 0-9 with higher scores indicating better outcome.	Baseline (screening), week 5 (Fast-Track and 5-week course), week 8 (8-week course)
Treatment Satisfaction	Measure includes 19 questions assessing satisfaction with various aspects of Internet-CBT and also negative effects of treatment	Week 5 (Fast-Track and 5-week course); Week 8 (8-week course)
Work and Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS)	Measure includes 5 questions assessing impairment of functioning. Items are scored on a scale of 0 to 8. Total scores on the WSAS range from 0 to 40 with higher scores suggesting severe impairment.	Baseline (screening), week 5 (Fast-Track and 5-week course), week 8 (8-week course)

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT)	A 10-item screening tool to assess alcohol consumption. Items 1 to 8 are scored on a scale ranging from 0 to 4. Items 9 and 10 are scored on a three-point scale (0, 2, or 4). Scores from 10 items are summed with possible scores ranging from 0 to 40 and higher scores indicating a higher likelihood of problematic alcohol consumption.	Baseline (screening)
Drug Use Disorder Identification Test (DUDIT)	An 11-item screening tool to assess problematic drug use. Items 1 to 9 are scored on a scale ranging from 0 to 4. Items 10 and 11 are scored as a 0, 2, or 4. Total scores for the DUDIT range from 0 to 44 with higher scores suggesting problematic drug use.	Baseline (screening)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Regina
• Collaborators: Ministry of Health, Saskatchewan
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Vanessa Peynenburg, MA, University of Regina

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): November 1, 2020
• Primary Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): April 30, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 11, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 11, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): April 19, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 5, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 28, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: depression; anxiety; post-secondary students; internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy; transdiagnostic; preference trial
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Anxiety Disorders; Depression
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2019-205b

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No