Clinical trial NCT06679452: Emotion, Aging, and Forgiveness: Protocol for a Feasibility of Randomized Controlled Trial
Official title: Emotion, Aging and Forgiveness: Protocol of a Feasibility and Acceptability Study of Emotion-Focused Therapy for Older Individuals
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
Phase: NA
Conditions: Emotion-Focused Therapy
Aging
Forgiveness
Keywords: Emotion-Focused Therapy; Forgiveness; Aging; Randomized Controlled Trial; Feasibility Protocol
Lead sponsor: University of Maia
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2024-11-07
Enrollment: 70
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 65
Standard ages: OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: TREATMENT

Brief summary: Over recent decades, Emotion-Focused Therapy, aging, and forgiveness have garnered significant attention in the field of psychology. However, there is a lack of studies on Emotion-Focused Therapy and forgiveness specifically tailored for older adults. This article describes a protocol to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a Randomized Controlled Trial of Emotion-Focused Therapy for the resolution of emotional injury in individuals over the age of 65 in the context of interpersonal offenses. The study is structured as a two-arm, parallel-group randomized trial with a waiting list control. We propose recruiting a sample of 70 participants, randomly assigned to either an immediate intervention group, which will receive Emotion-Focused Therapy over twelve weekly sessions, or a control group that will receive the same therapy after a twelve-week waiting period. Data will be collected in the beginning, middle, and at the end of therapy, and in two planned follow-ups (three and six months after therapy). Once this protocol is implemented, if the therapy proves to be feasible, acceptable, and shows promising results, the findings will inform a large-scale randomized clinical trial to advance the understanding of psychotherapy.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Our eligibility criteria include being 65 years or older, having experienced an interpersonal offense, residing at home or in a senior residence, stable prescribed medication use, scoring ≥ 26 on the MoCA (Montreal Cognitive Assessment), and fluency in Portuguese or English.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Exclusion criteria include reporting an offense which is less than a year old, severe emotional injuries (such as being a victim of domestic violence or abuse), psychiatric disorders, suicidal ideation, parasuicidal behavior, recent loss of a loved one, involvement in other therapies or clinical studies, current alcohol or drug abuse, living with another participant, and frequent hospitalizations.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Enright Forgiveness Inventory-EFI
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
measure: Letting Go (assessed through the Letting Go Measure; Greenberg et al., 2008):
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
measure: The Unfinished Business Feelings and Needs Scale (UFB FN-Greenberg et al., 2008;)
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
measure: The European Portuguese World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment in Older Adults (WHOQOL-OLD)
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
measure: The Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15; Matos et al., 2019; Yesavage & Sheikh, 1986)
timeFrame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Maia
country: Portugal
facility: Av. Carlos Oliveira Campos - Castelo da Maia 4475-690 Avioso S. Pedro
state: Castelo Da Maia
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Maia
name: Carla Cunha Alexandra Dr, PhD
role: STUDY_CHAIR
References:
citation: Buzgova R, Kozakova R, Bobcikova K, Zelenikova R. Predictors of life satisfaction in elders living at home in the Czech Republic. PLoS One. 2023 Mar 30;18(3):e0283772. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0283772. eCollection 2023.
citation: Lopez J, Serrano MI, Gimenez I, Noriega C. Forgiveness Interventions for Older Adults: A Review. J Clin Med. 2021 Apr 26;10(9):1866. doi: 10.3390/jcm10091866.
citation: Band-Winterstein T, Eisikovits Z, Brownell P, King A. Introduction: exploring older women's perspectives on lifetime abuse. J Elder Abuse Negl. 2024; 36(2):91-92. 10.1080/08946566.2024.2332141.
citation: Toussaint LL, Worthington EL, Williams DR, eds. Forgiveness and Health: Scientific Evidence and Theories Relating Forgiveness to Better Health. Springer; 2015. doi: 10.1007/978-94-017-9993-5.
citation: Greenberg LJ, Warwar SH, Malcolm WM. Differential effects of Emotion-Focused Therapy and psychoeducation in facilitating forgiveness and letting go of emotional injuries. J Couns Psychol. 2008; 55(2):185-96. doi: 10.1037/0022-0167.55.2.185.
citation: Almeida, B., Cunha, C. Time, resentment, and forgiveness: Impact on the well-being of older adults. Trends in Psychology. 2023. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43076-023-00343-2
citation: Enright RD, Fitzgibbons RP. Forgiveness therapy: An empirical guide for resolving anger and restoring hope. American Psychological Association; 2015. doi: 10.1037/14526-000.
citation: Meneses CW, Greenberg LS. Forgiveness and letting go in Emotion-Focused Therapy. American Psychological Association; 2019. doi: 10.1037/0000144-000.
citation: Worthington EL, Wade NG, eds. Handbook of forgiveness. 2nd ed. Routledge; 2020.