Emotion, Aging, and Forgiveness: Protocol for a Feasibility of Randomized Controlled Trial
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Emotion-Focused Therapy.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Emotion-Focused Therapy, Aging, Forgiveness. Basic parameters: from 65 years · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Portugal
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Emotion, Aging and Forgiveness: Protocol of a Feasibility and Acceptability Study of Emotion-Focused Therapy for Older Individuals
Overview
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.
Interventions
- Other Emotion-Focused Therapy
This feasibility protocol is a two-arm, parallel, double-blinded, RCT aimed at informing a future trial assessing the effectiveness of EFT in resolving emotional injuries in older adults in the context of interpersonal offenses.
Primary outcome measures
- Enright Forgiveness Inventory-EFI [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks]
- Letting Go (assessed through the Letting Go Measure; Greenberg et al., 2008): [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks]
- The Unfinished Business Feelings and Needs Scale (UFB FN-Greenberg et al., 2008;) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks]
Secondary outcome measures (2)
- The European Portuguese World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment in Older Adults (WHOQOL-OLD) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks]
- The Geriatric Depression Scale-15 (GDS-15; Matos et al., 2019; Yesavage & Sheikh, 1986) [Time frame: From enrollment to the end of treatment at 12 weeks]
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.
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: No
Study design
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Model
- Parallel assignment
- Masking
- Double blind
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
Study locations
Portugal · 1 center
- Av. Carlos Oliveira Campos - Castelo da Maia 4475-690 Avioso S. Pedro — Maia
Publications
- 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. PMID 36996129
- 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. PMID 33925790
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- Enright RD, Fitzgibbons RP. Forgiveness therapy: An empirical guide for resolving anger and restoring hope. American Psychological Association; 2015. doi: 10.1037/14526-000.
- Meneses CW, Greenberg LS. Forgiveness and letting go in Emotion-Focused Therapy. American Psychological Association; 2019. doi: 10.1037/0000144-000.
Identifiers
NCT: NCT06679452 · University Maia