This study aims to adapt the Youth Mental Health First Aid training to better meet the needs of South Asian American adults who support South Asian American youth. Focus groups will help identify what changes are needed. Based on that input, the training will be updated and then tested to see how well it helps adults improve their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward mental health and supporting the mental health of South Asian American youth.
This study aims to explore whether listening to music intentionally can support the mental health of people recovering from a stroke. The question the investigators aim to answer is: Can intentional music listening improve emotional well-being in stroke survivors? And if so, what kinds of changes might music listening induce in mental health, thinking and memory (cognition), and brain activity? Participants will be randomly assigned to listen to either music or an audiobook for one hour each day, at home, for four weeks. Participants will also attend four in-person sessions with the researchers: at the start of the study (baseline), just before the listening period begins, after the four weeks are complete, and at a follow-up. During these visits, researchers will gather information about participants' mood and mental health (via questionnaires), assess memory and attention (via cognitive tasks), and use MRI scans to look at brain activity.
The goal of the study is to implement a team-based "train the trainer" group approach by providing participants education and the opportunity for self-implementing a medical ketogenic diet study for 4 weeks. The overarching goal of the program is for those participating to be able to initiate the diet in clinical and research settings with greater competence. The study has two parts: 1. Mastery Class (Education, Q \& A) 2. 4 Week Open Label LIVE IT ketogenic diet participation with private and group consultation (optional)
Purpose of the Study This study investigates whether Holotropic Breathwork (HB)-a technique involving controlled hyperventilation paired with music and guided support-can improve the mental, emotional, and existential well-being of nursing students. The researchers aim to: Evaluate the acceptability and impact of HB in this population. Compare psychological, interpersonal, and existential functioning before and after the breathwork session. Study Design Participants: Up to 72 current UNMC nursing students (age 19+), excluding those with bipolar/psychotic disorders, cardiac/seizure conditions, glaucoma, or recent surgeries. Pregnant individuals are excluded. Intervention: A single-day breathwork session, led by certified facilitators, including preparatory instruction, two breathwork rounds (one as "breather," one as "sitter"), and integration discussions. Data Collection: Surveys before, immediately after, and at 1-, 3-, and 6-month follow-ups. Instruments include: Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) Psychological Insight Scale Self and Interpersonal Functioning Scale Purpose in Life Test Emotional Breakthrough and Mystical Experience Questionnaires Significance Nursing students face significant stress, anxiety, and even suicide risk. HB may offer a safe, non-drug intervention to support their mental health. While HB has been studied in other populations, this is the first known study targeting nursing students. Safety Measures Participants monitored by trained facilitators. Pre-screening includes a urine pregnancy test. Emergency plans include psychiatric assessment, Uber/Lyft rides if needed, and referral systems for mental health support. If \>15% of participants experience serious adverse events, the study will be halted.
This is a phase 1, open-label study to assess changes in mental well-being following MDMA administration within a therapeutic setting, in mental health providers who are in training to become MDMA assisted therapists. Secondary outcome measures will examine the effects on provider burnout, provider self-efficacy, mood, self-compassion, quality of life, and other psychological factors. Participants will work with a co-therapy pair as they engage in a preparatory session, one experimental session with MDMA, and an integration session the following day.
Appropriate training for perinatal mental health care is an important public health concern as mental health disorders are common pregnancy complications. Perinatal and mental health care providers report the difficulty of treating perinatal individuals due to insufficient information available regarding mental health treatment decisions, differences in beliefs and attitudes, and concerns about adverse effects on patients, such as self-harm and suicide. Effective shared decision-making skills can improve perinatal and mental health care providers' competencies to meet the unique decision needs of perinatal individuals, particularly those with mental health disorders. The proposed project titled "DECIDE to Improve Maternal Mental Health Care Delivery" aims to adapt the DECIDE Provider Training developed by Dr. Alegria and her team,1 to improve the rapid and wide dissemination and implementation of DECIDE in meeting the mental health needs of perinatal individuals. DECIDE stands for Decide the problem; Explore the questions; Closed or open-ended questions; Identify the who, why, or how of the problem; Direct questions to your health care professional; Enjoy a shared solution. The DECIDE provider training was developed based on theories of intergroup contact in social psychology and a patient-centered framework.28-30 DECIDE teaches mental health providers how to improve perspective-taking, reduce attributional errors, and increase receptivity to the client population.1,15-17 The proposed project will (1) make content adaptation (i.e., adding topical training content to fit perinatal mental health care) and process adaption (i.e., creating asynchronous training modules to reduce the burden for care providers) to the DECIDE Provider Training and (2) assess the acceptability, appropriateness, and usability of adapted DECIDE provider training for rapid and wide dissemination and implementation of DECIDE in maternal mental health care delivery.
Veterans living with mental health and substance use conditions are at risk of unemployment, which leads to significant health-related consequences. Though the Veterans Health Administration offers numerous vocational rehabilitation programs to address unemployment, they are not uniformly effective for everyone who participates. This project will test a new model for addressing Veteran unemployment. This new model adds career development services (a vocational counseling program called Purposeful Pathways) to a standard model of vocational rehabilitation (a program called Transitional Work \[TW\]). The investigators will test if adding Purposeful Pathways to TW leads to more Veterans working in quality jobs as well as better quality of life, reduced mental health symptoms, and reduced substance use. This project fills a critical need in advancing research and practice aimed at reducing Veteran unemployment; thereby preventing consequences to Veteran's economic, social, and health related functioning and well-being. The investigators will conduct a phase II, multi-site, RCT comparing Purposeful Pathways + TW (n=127) to TW alone (n=127) among Veterans participating in TW at VA Bedford, VA Hines, and VA North Texas. Aim 1: Evaluate the efficacy of Purposeful Pathways for improving occupational functioning (primary outcome). Hypothesis: Purposeful Pathways + TW, compared to TW only, will improve occupational functioning. Aim 2: Evaluate the efficacy of Purposeful Pathways for improving quality of life, and reducing mental health symptoms and substance use (secondary outcomes). Hypothesis: Purposeful Pathways + TW, compared to TW only, will improve quality of life, and reduce mental health symptoms and substance use. Aim 3 (Exploratory): Explore whether occupational functioning (competitive employment attainment) in the Purposeful Pathways + TW group is mediated by vocational identity, work hope, self-regulation, and/or employment motivation, key factors central to the Purposeful Pathways intervention.
The purpose of this pilot study is to evaluate the acceptability of an artificial intelligence powered mental health support tool for mental health wellness amongst physicians in training. The primary research procedures are: The primary research procedure will be the utilization of artificial intelligence powered mental health support session through a web browser for physicians in training to address symptoms related to depression and anxiety. A pre and post intervention survey, evaluating depression symptoms with the standardized PHQ-9 questionnaire and anxiety symptoms with the standardized GAD-7 questionnaire will be conducted to assess changes in mental health wellness. The study will enroll physicians in training, including Internal Medicine residents and Gastroenterology fellows. The study includes at least 4 sessions. The total study duration for each subject is 3 months.
Poverty and financial stress are key social drivers of health and root causes of worse health beginning in pregnancy, continuing into childhood, and extending over the life course, but clinical tools to address the health impacts of poverty and financial stress are needed. This trial is of a multi-site medical-financial partnership intervention to examine its effect on parent, perinatal, and child outcomes, as well as health care utilization, and family financial and social risk. This pragmatic randomized clinical effectiveness trial will examine the impact of a clinic-based medical-financial partnership intervention beginning either 1) in the newborn period (Intervention Arm 1) or 2) during prenatal care (Intervention Arm 2) versus controls on parent, child, and family/household outcomes.
Most mental health (MH) disorders develop in early childhood but are not clinically identified or treated until later-delaying treatment services that could prevent the enduring effects of long-term MH problems. Moreover, low income, ethno-racial minoritized children who exhibit higher rates of persistent MH disorders, are at greater risk for lags in identification and treatment. Head Start (HStart) has shown early school success for low-income children, aged 3-5 years, who are disproportionately Black or Latinx. HStart monitors early childhood MH symptoms, yet studies have found that when detected, only those most impaired are referred for treatment. In our research, the investigators learned that system and individual level barriers preclude early treatment among HStart preschoolers with developmental concern. The investigators showed that caregivers encountered system barriers of HStart teachers and primary care providers (PCPs) falling behind in referrals for intervention, and caregiver beliefs about stigma, their limited knowledge and distrust of healthcare hindered early engagement in services. Studies on MH treatment obstacles for low-income, ethno-racial minoritized people illustrate similar barriers to those found among HStart preschoolers with developmental concern. We developed and tested an ethno-racially matched, peer-based family navigator program for HStart preschoolers with developmental concern. Navigators used trust and empowerment to increase caregiver advocacy thereby leading to improved professional alliances and treatment. A navigator program for those with primary MH concerns has not been trialed. For Aim 1, the investigators aim to tailor and trial in a case series the Navigate-Train-Referral-Intervention Mental Health (NTRI-MH) intervention to promote access, engagement, coordination, and optimization of services for preschoolers with MH symptoms. The investigators have used focus group feedback from caregiver, navigator, HStart teacher, and PCP stakeholders to adapt NTRI-MH and created a web-based dashboard to monitor outcomes (Phase 1). Then, for phase 2, the investigators will conduct a feasibility study for caregivers of HStart preschoolers with MH symptoms, guided by ethno-racially matched family navigators and referrals by HStart teachers and PCPs (n=20). Further, for Aim 2, the investigators will pilot test NTRI-MH for caregivers of preschoolers with MH symptoms compared to an active control group of caregivers who receive child behavior training (n=86). The investigators will trial the effectiveness of the NTRI-MH mechanisms of caregiver beliefs on MH, empowerment, and professional alliances on family functioning and child emotion regulation. If the aims of the project are achieved, this study would have a large impact on early MH service use for ethno-racial minoritized young children with the potential to improve child MH outcomes.