Telemedicine-Delivered Unified Protocol for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Depression (UP-CBT)

October 29, 2025 updated by: Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Telemedicine-Delivered Unified Protocol for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Depression in Young Adults With Type 1 Diabetes

This project will evaluate a telemedicine-delivered, Unified Protocol for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (UP-CBT) enhanced with continuous glucose monitor (CGM) review to target anxiety and depressive symptoms and glycemic control in adults with type 1 diabetes.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The efficacy of the Unified Protocol for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (UP-CBT) combined with commercial FDA-approved Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) will be tested in comparison to CGM only in a randomized controlled clinical trial. The central hypothesis is that the addition of the UP-CBT intervention will yield clinically significant improvements in anxiety and depressive symptom severity and glycemic control relative to CGM alone. We will recruit 94 adults (age 18-64) with suboptimally controlled type 1 diabetes and an anxiety or depressive disorder from a national population for an entirely virtual 12-month study over five years, with targeted recruitment of racial/ethnic minorities. In addition to standard measurement of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) for glycemic control and validated patient-reported outcome (PRO) surveys, the study integrates momentary psychological and behavioral data via smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) with CGM data to assess day-to-day changes in affect, self-management, and glycemia over the course of the trial.

Qualitative information will be collected from people with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) ages 35-64 to solicit suggestions and inform future study decisions. We will create 2-4 focus groups to ask their impressions about our current study and to explore key factors like establishing adult care and attending medical appointments, disease self-management, and adjusting to chronic disease. We will compare interview responses from participant groups who have high vs. low social needs and poor vs. good glycemic control.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

94

Phase

  • 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 Backup

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02215
        • Recruiting
        • Boston University
        • Contact:
    • New York
      • The Bronx, New York, United States, 10461
        • Recruiting
        • Albert Einstein College of Medicine
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Jeffrey Gonzalez, PhD
        • Contact:

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

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 35 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Type 1 diabetes (T1D) duration ≥ 6 months
  • 18-64 years old
  • English- or Spanish-speaking
  • Anxiety or depressive mood disorder as per structured diagnostic interview.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Developmental or sensory disability interfering with participation
  • Current pregnancy
  • Bipolar disorders, psychotic disorders, severe eating disorders, severe substance abuse disorders, or acute suicidal risk or self-harm
  • Use of medications or recent medical procedures that would impact glycemic control or use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) over the study
  • Received cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in last year or plans to initiate CBT; (6) temporary exclusion for recent initiation of psychotropic medication - must be on a stable dose for 6 weeks prior to enrollment.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Unified Protocol for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (UP-CBT) with Continuous Glucose Monitoring
Participants randomized to this arm will receive the Unified Protocol for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (UP-CBT), enhanced by review of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) data. Participants will wear study-supplied CGM for the first 6 months of their participation in the trial.
Behavioral: Unified protocol for cognitive behavioral therapy (UP-CBT)
UP-CBT consists of approximately 16 individual sessions of CBT, conducted over the course of approximately 20 weeks. The UP-CBT consists of 5 core modules targeting negative emotionality and aversive reactions to emotional experiences. These modules are preceded by an introductory session that reviews the patient's presenting symptoms and provides a therapeutic rationale, as well as a module on motivational enhancement. The final module consists of relapse prevention. UP-CBT sessions will integrate a review of Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) data and feedback will be provided by the therapist.
Device: Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)
Use of commercially available, FDA-approved continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for 6 months post-randomization. Usual diabetes care will continue and participants can initiate a CGM review from their healthcare providers, as desired. In addition, a nurse practitioner with expertise in CGM will train each participant via video recordings in the proper placement of the device, and technical issues, and provide basic teaching at the beginning of the trial on interpretation of CGM data and self-titration of insulin/self-management. Written materials and online resources for recognizing and managing anxiety and depressive disorders, along with self-management information and treatment options to discuss with providers will also be provided.
Active Comparator: Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) Only
Participants randomized to receive Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) will continue to receive their usual care and will also wear CGM throughout the first 6 months of their participation in the trial.
Device: Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)
Use of commercially available, FDA-approved continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) for 6 months post-randomization. Usual diabetes care will continue and participants can initiate a CGM review from their healthcare providers, as desired. In addition, a nurse practitioner with expertise in CGM will train each participant via video recordings in the proper placement of the device, and technical issues, and provide basic teaching at the beginning of the trial on interpretation of CGM data and self-titration of insulin/self-management. Written materials and online resources for recognizing and managing anxiety and depressive disorders, along with self-management information and treatment options to discuss with providers will also be provided.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Anxiety symptom severity
Time Frame: Baseline and midway through treatment (3 months), immediately post-treatment (5.5 months) and 9- and 12- months post-baseline
Participant ratings will be conducted via video conference by clinicians blinded to the condition, using the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scales (SIGH-A). SIGH-A measures the severity of a patient's somatic and psychic anxiety based on 14 parameters including anxious mood, tension, fears, insomnia, somatic complaints and behavior at the interview. Each item is assigned a 5-point score ranging from 0 (not present) to 4 (severe) yielding an overall possible score of 0-56. Higher SIGH-A scores denote increased severity of anxiety.
Baseline and midway through treatment (3 months), immediately post-treatment (5.5 months) and 9- and 12- months post-baseline
Depressive symptom severity
Time Frame: Baseline and midway through treatment (3 months), immediately post-treatment (5.5 months) and 9- and 12- months post-baseline
Participant ratings will be conducted via video conference by clinicians blinded to the condition, using the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scales (SIGH-D). SIGH-D is a 29-item clinical interview that expands the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) to include eight items assessing "atypical symptoms" of depression. Ranges for individual parameters vary but a score of 0 signifies less severity (e.g., no/absent) and incrementally higher scores represent more severe symptoms. Total SIGH-D scores can range from 0 to 90. A higher overall SIGH-D score denotes increased severity of Depression.
Baseline and midway through treatment (3 months), immediately post-treatment (5.5 months) and 9- and 12- months post-baseline

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time in Range (TIR) calculated from Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM)
Time Frame: 6 months
The percentage of time glucose values were within range (i.e., between 70-180 mg/dL) will be calculated from CGM data during the 6 months after randomization. Results will be summarized by study arm using basic descriptive statistics.
6 months
Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)
Time Frame: 6 months
Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values will be calculated using mailed point-of-care (POC) kits for home collection. Samples will be collected, returned, processed, and shipped for analysis by a central laboratory. HbA1c results will be summarized by study arm using basic descriptive statistics.
6 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Depressive symptom severity
Time Frame: 9 months
Participant ratings will be conducted via video conference by clinicians blinded to the condition, using the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scales (SIGH-D). SIGH-D is a 29-item clinical interview that expands the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) to include eight items assessing "atypical symptoms" of depression. Ranges for individual parameters vary but a score of 0 signifies less severity (e.g., no/absent) and incrementally higher scores represent more severe symptoms. Total SIGH-D scores can range from 0 to 90. A higher overall SIGH-D score denotes increased severity of Depression.
9 months
Depressive symptom severity
Time Frame: 12 months
Participant ratings will be conducted via video conference by clinicians blinded to the condition, using the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scales (SIGH-D). SIGH-D is a 29-item clinical interview that expands the 21-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) to include eight items assessing "atypical symptoms" of depression. Ranges for individual parameters vary but a score of 0 signifies less severity (e.g., no/absent) and incrementally higher scores represent more severe symptoms. Total SIGH-D scores can range from 0 to 90. A higher overall SIGH-D score denotes increased severity of Depression.
12 months
Anxiety symptom severity
Time Frame: 9 months
Participant ratings will be conducted via video conference by clinicians blinded to the condition, using the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scales (SIGH-A). SIGH-A measures the severity of a patient's somatic and psychic anxiety based on 14 parameters including anxious mood, tension, fears, insomnia, somatic complaints and behavior at the interview. Each item is assigned a 5-point score ranging from 0 (not present) to 4 (severe) yielding an overall possible score of 0-56. Higher SIGH-A scores denote increased severity of anxiety.
9 months
Anxiety symptom severity
Time Frame: 12 months
Participant ratings will be conducted via video conference by clinicians blinded to the condition, using the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scales (SIGH-A). SIGH-A measures the severity of a patient's somatic and psychic anxiety based on 14 parameters including anxious mood, tension, fears, insomnia, somatic complaints and behavior at the interview. Each item is assigned a 5-point score ranging from 0 (not present) to 4 (severe) yielding an overall possible score of 0-56. Higher SIGH-A scores denote increased severity of anxiety.
12 months
Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)
Time Frame: 9 months
Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values will be calculated using mailed point-of-care (POC) kits for home collection. Samples will be collected, returned, processed, and shipped for analysis by a central laboratory. HbA1c results will be summarized by study arm using basic descriptive statistics.
9 months
Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)
Time Frame: 12 months
Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) values will be calculated using mailed point-of-care (POC) kits for home collection. Samples will be collected, returned, processed, and shipped for analysis by a central laboratory. HbA1c results will be summarized by study arm using basic descriptive statistics.
12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Collaborators

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
DexCom, Inc.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jeffrey Gonzalez, PhD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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)

March 31, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 2, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 16, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

February 17, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimated)

October 30, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

October 29, 2025

Last Verified

October 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2022-14517

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

Yes

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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