A pilot study of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and brief Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction informed group interventions for anxiety in a university setting

To join this study, you need to be a university student and be at least 18 years old. You should be experiencing some anxiety, but it shouldn't be too severe. The researchers will use a simple questionnaire to check this.

You cannot join if you are already having therapy or counselling somewhere else. Also, if you have more serious mental health conditions, like certain personality disorders or psychosis, or if you're a postgraduate psychology student at City, University of London, this study isn't for you.

If you decide to take part, you'll first fill out some questionnaires about your feelings and well-being. Then, a computer will randomly place you into one of three groups. One group will have four weekly sessions of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), another will have four weekly sessions of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), and the third group will be on a waiting list for these four weeks. Each session lasts two hours.

After the four weeks of sessions (or waiting), you'll fill out the same questionnaires again. You'll also do this one more time, four weeks later, to see if any changes have lasted. If you were in the waiting list group, you'll then be offered one of the therapies. Qualified psychologists will lead all the group sessions. Sometimes, with your permission, sessions might be recorded to help improve teaching and research, but any information that could identify you would be removed.