About this trial
The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention, Group Medical Visits (GMVs), for patients with depression and anxiety. It also aims to get some initial information on the effectiveness of GMVs on reducing depression and anxiety scores, which will help inform power calculations for a future larger randomized controlled trial (RCT). The main question it aims to answer is:
* Are GMVs feasible and acceptable to patients with depression and anxiety?
This study consists of a pilot RCT with an intervention and control arm. At enrollment, participants will be randomized to the intervention group, 6 months of GMVs, or to the control group, which consists of "standard client services". For the GMV group, participants will engage in a biweekly virtual group that is similar to a standard psychiatric follow-up. Participants in the control group will receive standard care after a psychiatric assessment, which includes follow-up with their primary care provider (family physician or nurse practitioner), individual psychiatric care if suggested by the psychiatrist who did their psychiatric assessment, and/or a referral to publicly funded therapy groups if interested.
Eligibility criteria
Qualifiers
Adult Central Intake patients (patients referred for psychiatric consultation by their primary care provider) whose primary mental health issue is an anxiety disorder (social anxiety, generalized anxiety, or panic disorder) or depression (major depressive disorder or persistent depressive disorder)
Able to participate in English language group with up to 10 participants
Able to commit to a virtual biweekly group for about 1.5 hours each group
Able to do virtual group from a private location with camera access
Disqualifiers
Patients with Bipolar 1 or 2 Disorder (even if current episode depression)
Primary diagnosis of a personality disorder leading to anxiety/depression symptoms (personality disorder traits are not an exclusion criteria)
Patients who already have established longitudinal care with a psychiatrist
Received ECT treatment within past 6 months
Trial design
Treatments tested in this trial
- Group Medical Visits