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Background Children with mental health difficulties are at increased risk of many adverse psychological, academic, and social outcomes. Emotion regulation is a key transdiagnostic factor in the development and maintenance of mental health challenges. Parents and the family system (e.g., parental functioning, parenting, parent-child relationship) play a central role in children’s development of emotion regulation and, in turn, their mental health. Therefore, continued efforts are needed to understand the effectiveness of emotion-focused treatments for child mental health difficulties, particularly those that include a family-based approach. Emotion Focused Family Therapy (EFFT) is an intervention for parents of children with mental health difficulties that teaches parents advanced skills to support their child’s emotional development, potentially leading to improvements in the psychological functioning of the affected child as well as the family. Despite this, EFFT’s efficacy has yet to be tested empirically via a randomized controlled trial. Methods A six-week group modality of EFFT was developed based on the standard manualized version of a two-day group modality of EFFT. Efficacy of the six-week group modality of EFFT will be tested in a randomized controlled trial among parents of children aged 7 to 15 with anxiety, depression, or behavioral challenges. Parents will be randomized to the intervention condition or waitlist control condition. Online questionnaires and in-lab assessments will be conducted at pre-treatment, post-treatment, 4-month follow-up and 1-year follow-up. Intervention effects on primary (parent psychological symptoms, child psychological symptoms, parent emotion regulation, child emotion regulation, parent-child co-regulation) and secondary (parental emotion socialization, parent emotion blocks, parental self-efficacy, perceived parental stress, treatment satisfaction, treatment fidelity) outcomes will be analyzed by linear mixed models. Discussion The study protocol describes the randomized controlled trial of EFFT, a parent group intervention for parents of children with anxiety, depression, and behavioral challenges. Findings contribute to the understanding of the efficacy of EFFT as a time-limited, transdiagnostic intervention for the treatment of child mental health challenges with potential positive impacts on parent and family functioning. Trial registration [2a] ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05603000. Prospectively registered October 13, 2022. Protocol version [3] Version 1.1 November 2023.

Background Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a debilitating condition, affecting women of reproductive age. It is characterized by severe periodic physical and psychological symptoms, which end after the onset of menstruation. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of emotion-focused therapy (EFT) for PMDD patients. Methods A total of 48 PMDD women, in the age range of 18–44 years, were randomly assigned to two intervention and control groups. The intervention group participated in 16 weeks of EFT treatment, while the control group was selected based on the waiting list (waitlist control group) and followed-up after three months. Forty-four patients finally completed this study. The participants completed the Premenstrual Syndrome Screening Tool (PSST), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) in the first premenstrual period before treatment, the first premenstrual period after treatment, and the premenstrual period three months after treatment. Results Based on the repeated measure analysis of variances, the total score of DERS and the total score of PSST decreased significantly ( P  < 0.05). Also, in DASS-21, the scores of depression and stress subscales reduced significantly ( P  < 0.05), while there was no significant decrease in the score of anxiety subscale ( P  > 0.05). Conclusion Based on the present results, EFT can be an effective treatment for alleviating the symptoms of PMDD. This treatment can reduce the emotion regulation difficulties of women with PMDD and alleviate the symptoms of depression and stress. Trial registration Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials, IRCT ID: IRCT20220920055998N1, Registered on: 12/2/2023.

Objectives Intimate relationships can enhance quality of life and reduce the risk of psychological disorders. Self-disclosure, a fundamental component of intimacy, occurs only when vulnerability is met with acceptance rather than rejection. However, shame disrupts this process by inhibiting vulnerability and promoting defensive strategies, thereby undermining intimacy and relational security. This study aimed to address shame within an Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy framework to enhance intimacy. Method A randomized controlled design was employed. Twenty-six married couples were randomly assigned to either an experimental group or a control group. The Experience of Shame Scale and the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships were used as assessment tools. Results Compared with the control, EFCT significantly increased intimacy and reduced shame in the experimental group ( p  < 0.05). Conclusion Shame may disrupt both intimacy and the therapeutic relationship and should be addressed during treatment. The discussion outlines possible mechanisms of change. Trial registration This paper has been registered with the Clinical Trial ID (71773). It was registered on 2024/10/04. (Clinical Trial Number IRCT20230801058994N1)

Background Anxiety disorders are common psychological pregnancy problems that can lead to adverse pregnancy outcomes. The study aimed to compare the improvement of psychological distress between Internet-Based Emotion-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (iECBT) with and without husbands’ participation in pregnant women with anxiety disorders. Method In a randomized controlled trial, 84 pregnant women diagnosed with anxiety disorders were randomly assigned to two groups: iECBT alone ( n  = 42) and iECBT with their husband’s participation ( n  = 42). In a group of iECBT alone, women received eight sessions of iECBT (with a duration of 50 min) once a week. In the iECBT group with the husband’s participation, women received psychotherapy as same as iECBT alone, and their husbands received eight sessions (with a duration of 20 min) once a week. The outcomes were the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), the Brief Symptom Inventory 18, the pregnancy-specific stress, and Garnefski’s cognitive emotion regulation in the four-time series. Results The mean age of participants was about 30 years. Both iECBTs, with and without the husband’s participation, were effective in improving state anxiety, psychological distress, pregnancy-specific stress, and emotion regulation in pregnant women. iECBTs with and without the husband’s participation were not superior to each other regarding improving the outcomes. Conclusion As iECBT with the husband’s participation was not superior to iECBT alone, further studies should evaluate proper strategies to increase men’s effective role in the treatment of their pregnant partners with psychological disorders. Trial registration IRCT20110228005931N10.

Background Testicular cancer diagnosis and treatment, especially given its threat to sexuality and reproductive health, can be distressing in the formative period of young adulthood and the majority of young survivors experience impairing, distressing, and modifiable adverse outcomes that can persist long after medical treatment. These include psychological distress, impairment in pursuit of life goals, persistent physical side effects, elevated risk of secondary malignancies and chronic illness, and biobehavioral burden (e.g., enhanced inflammation, dysregulated diurnal stress hormones). However, few targeted interventions exist to assist young survivors in renegotiating life goals and regulating cancer-related emotions, and none focus on reducing the burden of morbidity via biobehavioral mechanisms. This paper describes the methodology of a randomized controlled biobehavioral trial designed to investigate the feasibility and preliminary impact of a novel intervention, Goal-focused Emotion-Regulation Therapy (GET), aimed at improving distress symptoms, emotion regulation, goal navigation skills, and stress-sensitive biomarkers in young adult testicular cancer patients. Methods Participants will be randomized to receive six sessions of GET or Individual Supportive Therapy (ISP) delivered over 8 weeks. In addition to indicators of intervention feasibility, we will measure primary (depressive and anxiety symptoms) and secondary (emotion regulation and goal navigation skills, career confusion) psychological outcomes prior to (T 0 ), immediately after (T 1 ), and 12 weeks after (T 2 ) intervention. Additionally, identified biomarkers will be measured at baseline and at T 2 . Discussion GET may have the potential to improve self-regulation across biobehavioral domains, improve overall cancer adjustment, and address the need for targeted supportive care interventions for young adult cancer survivors. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov , NCT04150848 . Registered on 28 October 2019.