Interoceptive Training Enhanced Mindfulness (ITEM): Acceptability and Measurement
Veterans Medical Research Foundation
Summary
This pilot randomized controlled trial will compare a novel mindfulness training to interoceptive exposure to establish feasibility and acceptability as an intervention for anxiety sensitivity.
Description
Anxiety sensitivity (AS), which involves fear that arousal related symptoms will have negative physical, social or psychological ramifications, is an important driver of anxiety, trauma-related and somatic disorders. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), particularly involving interoceptive exposure (IE; i.e., exposure to unwanted internal sensations), has the greatest demonstrated efficacy at reducing AS but can be hard to tolerate. Conversely, mindfulness is sought out for management of multiple mental health problems, but the observed clinical effects are often modest. A hybrid of these two a…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria: * Veteran status * able to read and speak English * ASI-3 score of 23 or higher * clinically meaningful distress/impairment related to an emotional or somatic complaint as determined by a Clinical Global Impression Scale (CGI) of 3 or greater * Internet access via a device that can support remote study activities and ability to attend in person appointments Exclusion Criteria: * serious mental illness, including bipolar disorder or psychotic illness * current, untreated alcohol or substance use disorder * moderate-severe suicidality that would likely result in the need f…
Interventions
- OtherMindfulness training
Brief mindfulness training focused on management of unwanted internal sensations
- BehavioralInteroceptive exposure
Cognitive behavioral therapy focused in interoceptive exposure to unwanted internal sensations
Location
- VA San Diego Healthcare SystemSan Diego, California