Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Post-Stroke Adjustment Via Telerehabilitation

March 31, 2026 updated by: University of East Anglia

A stroke can affect someone physically and emotionally. There are more than 1.3 million stroke survivors in the UK, so it is important the right support is available.

Acceptance and commitment therapy is a psychological therapy that helps people adjust to new circumstances. Studies have found that it is helpful for people with long-term health conditions such as brain injury, chronic pain, and multiple sclerosis. Therefore, we want to assess if this therapy can help people adjust to life after a stroke.

To assess this, we are looking for adults over 18 who have:

  • Had a stroke over three months ago.
  • No other neurological illness.
  • No severe cognitive or communication difficulties.
  • Been discharged from all rehabilitation programmes.
  • No severe psychological disorder.
  • Not been diagnosed with a major health condition in the last 12 months.
  • Access to a device with a camera, an internet connection and private space for video calls.

Participants will:

  1. Complete a weekly questionnaire for up to seven weeks on acceptance and action.
  2. Complete a second questionnaire at week 7 on mood, what is important to participants and how the stroke has affected their life.
  3. Attend an eight-week online group of acceptance and commitment therapy. Sessions are weekly for 90 minutes, including breaks. Participants will repeat the questionnaire.
  4. Give feedback after therapy ends and repeat the questionnaires.
  5. Repeat the questionnaires after three and six months. Participants will be reminded to complete the online questionnaires and can take breaks as needed.

At the end of the study, participants will have a debrief call to discuss details of the study.

Participants will get a £10 Amazon gift card to thank them for taking part.

Study Overview

Status

Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

5

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 Locations

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

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Suffered a stroke over three months ago.
  • No other neurological illness.
  • Not currently receiving any psychological intervention.
  • No severe communication difficulties.
  • No severe cognitive impairments.
  • No current or historical suicidal ideation/self-harming behaviours.
  • Not been diagnosed with major long-term health conditions in the last 12 months (except for stroke or trans-ischaemic attack; TIA)
  • Access to a device with a camera, stable internet connection and private space

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Had a TIA without the presence of a stroke.
  • No current distress around adjusting to the consequences of stroke.
  • Distress of a severity that it cannot be managed safely in a group therapy setting.

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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
8-week ACT group intervention.
Other: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
8 weeks of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy delivered as a group intervention via telerehabilitation (online, video call).
Other Names:
  • ACT

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Psychological flexibility (CompACT-10)
Time Frame: From baseline to end of intervention (13-15 weeks dependent on baseline length allocated).
Data collected using self-report measure (CompACT-10). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected weekly during baseline phase (up to 7 weeks) and intervention phase (8 weeks).
From baseline to end of intervention (13-15 weeks dependent on baseline length allocated).
Psychological Flexibility (CompACT-10)
Time Frame: 6 months post-intervention.
Data collected using self-report measure (CompACT-10). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected 6 months after intervention ends.
6 months post-intervention.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Psychological Flexibility (CompACT-10)
Time Frame: 3 months post-intervention.
Data collected using self-report measure (CompACT-10). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected 3 months after intervention ends.
3 months post-intervention.
Psychological Distress (CORE-10)
Time Frame: Start of intervention and 8 weeks later (after intervention ends)
Data collected using self-report measure (CORE-10). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected immediately before and after intervention.
Start of intervention and 8 weeks later (after intervention ends)
Psychological Distress (CORE-10)
Time Frame: 3 months post-intervention
Data collected using self-report measure (CORE-10). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected 3 months after intervention ends.
3 months post-intervention
Psychological Distress (CORE-10)
Time Frame: 6 months post-intervention
Data collected using self-report measure (CORE-10). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected 6 months after intervention ends.
6 months post-intervention
Stroke Specific Quality of Life (SSQoL-12)
Time Frame: Start of intervention and post 8-week intervention.
Data collected using self-report measure (SSQoL-12). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected immediately before and after 8 week intervention.
Start of intervention and post 8-week intervention.
Stroke Specific Quality of Life (SSQoL-12)
Time Frame: 3 months post-intervention
Data collected using self-report measure (SSQoL-12). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected 3 months post-intervention.
3 months post-intervention
Stroke Specific Quality of Life (SSQoL-12)
Time Frame: 6 months post-intervention
Data collected using self-report measure (SSQoL-12). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected 6 months post-intervention.
6 months post-intervention
Independence/Participation (CIQ-15)
Time Frame: 3 months post-intervention
Data collected using self-report measure (CIQ-15). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected 3 months post-intervention.
3 months post-intervention
Independence/Participation (CIQ-15)
Time Frame: 6 months post-intervention
Data collected using self-report measure (CIQ-15). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected 6 months post-intervention.
6 months post-intervention
Independence/Participation (CIQ-15)
Time Frame: 8 weeks (before and after intervention).
Data collected using self-report measure (CIQ-15). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected immediately before and after 8 week intervention.
8 weeks (before and after intervention).
Wellbeing (SWEMWBS)
Time Frame: 3 months post-intervention
Data collected using self-report measure (SWEMWBS). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected 3 months post-intervention.
3 months post-intervention
Wellbeing (SWEMWBS)
Time Frame: 6 months post-intervention
Data collected using self-report measure (SWEMWBS). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected 6 months post-intervention.
6 months post-intervention
Wellbeing (SWEMWBS)
Time Frame: 8 weeks (before and after intervention)
Data collected using self-report measure (SWEMWBS). Questionnaire completed online, via a link. Data collected immediately before and after 8 week intervention.
8 weeks (before and after intervention)

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University of East Anglia

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)

September 4, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

June 22, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 22, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 25, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 31, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

April 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 6, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 31, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 348067

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

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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