A Positive Psychology Intervention for Patients With Multiple Sclerosis

Completed · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Multiple Sclerosis

In brief

Positive psychology (PP) uses targeted activities to increase the frequency and intensity of positive emotional experiences such as positive affect. Examples of PP activities include recalling positive life events and performing acts of kindness. This pilot study will examine the tolerability and efficacy of a PP training program to increase positive affect in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). In the intervention phase, subjects randomized to the intervention group will complete five weeks of PP exercises, one exercise per week. Subjects will also have weekly calls with the study trainer. The control group will have no study activities. In the extension phase, subjects in the control group will complete PP training as described above. The investigators will examine the tolerability of the program by calculating the proportion of subjects who complete the program. The investigators will also examine exercise-specific ratings of ease and utility to measure the acceptability of each exercise. Finally, the investigators will evaluate the efficacy of PP training by comparing subjects in the intervention and control groups on measures of positive affect, emotional function, health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and self-reported functional activities such as work. If successful, this study will advance the use of PP as a low cost, innovative and effective tool for increasing positive affect, decreasing depression and anxiety and improving HRQOL in patients with MS.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT03637699

Run by

Brigham and Women's Hospital

People needed

30

Starts

2018-03-12

Expected to finish

2019-04-09

Last updated by the study team

2021-08-16

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 65. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: not accepted.

You may qualify if…

• Diagnosis of multiple sclerosis according to the McDonald 2010 diagnostic criteria
• Age 18-65
• Ability to speak, read and write in English
• Enrollment in the Comprehensive Longitudinal Investigation of Multiple Sclerosis at the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Partners MS Center: The CLIMB Study.

You may not qualify if…

• Moderate or marked cognitive abnormalities on brief mental status testing identified that would preclude meaningful participation in the PP exercises.

Where it is running

• Brigham and Women's Hospital — Boston, Massachusetts, United States

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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