BEAM App for Parent Mental Health

(BEAM Trial)

Recruiting at 1 trial location

Overseen By Lara Leijser, PhD

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Trial Phase: Academic

Sponsor: University of Calgary

Disqualifiers: Suicide attempt, Self-harm, Child disorders, others

No Placebo Group All trial participants will receive the active study treatment (no placebo)

Approved in 1 Jurisdiction This treatment is already approved in other countries

Compensation: Varies

Number of Visits: 6

Duration: 12 weeks

240 Participants Needed

What You Need to Know Before You Apply

What is the purpose of this trial?

This trial aims to evaluate how an app called BEAM (Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health in Parenting) can assist parents dealing with mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and anger. The app offers mental health and parenting videos, peer coaching, and social support through forums and Zoom meetings. The trial will assess the app's impact on parent well-being, parenting stress, and child behavior and brain development. Suitable participants are parents living in Vancouver or Calgary, with a child aged 3-4, who experience high levels of depression, anxiety, or anger. As an unphased trial, this study provides a unique opportunity to contribute to innovative research that could enhance parenting support.

Do I need to stop my current medications for the trial?

The trial information does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications. It is best to consult with the trial coordinators for guidance.

What prior data suggests that the BEAM app is safe for improving parent mental health?

Research shows that the BEAM program is a promising way to improve mental health for parents. Available through a mobile app, the program includes helpful videos, peer coaching, and social support sessions. Although detailed safety data for BEAM is not yet available, it employs well-known therapy methods. These include the Unified Protocol and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), both respected for treating mental health issues like depression and anxiety.

The trial is in the "Not Applicable" phase, indicating early stages of studying the BEAM program's effects. This typically means limited safety data is available. However, because it uses proven therapy techniques and focuses on emotional support, it likely has a good safety profile. Participants have not reported any major negative effects, suggesting the program is well-tolerated. ^{1 2 3 4 5}

Why are researchers excited about this trial?

Researchers are excited about the BEAM Program because it offers a fresh approach to enhancing parent mental health through a mobile app. Unlike traditional therapy sessions that require in-person visits, BEAM delivers videos and strategies via a mobile application, making it more accessible and convenient for busy parents. The program integrates evidence-based techniques from the Unified Protocol and Dialectical Behavior Therapy to help parents manage their emotions and improve communication with their children. Additionally, it includes parenting videos that focus on emotion-focused strategies, helping parents better connect with and understand their kids. This innovative delivery method and comprehensive support system are what set BEAM apart from conventional treatments.

What evidence suggests that the BEAM app is effective for parent mental health?

Research shows that the BEAM app, available to participants in this trial, holds promise for improving mental health in parents, particularly mothers with young children. Studies have found that BEAM can reduce symptoms of depression, anxiety, and strict parenting. The app incorporates techniques from proven therapies, such as the Unified Protocol and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), to help manage emotions. It also includes parenting methods focused on emotions to enhance interactions with children. Overall, the BEAM program is emerging as a practical and well-received tool for boosting parental mental health. ^{1 2 3 5 6}

Who Is on the Research Team?

Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen, PhD

Principal Investigator

University of British Columbia

Catherine Lebel, PhD

Principal Investigator

University of Calgary

Leslie E Roos, PhD

Principal Investigator

University of Manitoba

Are You a Good Fit for This Trial?

The BEAM trial is for parents over 18 living in Vancouver or Calgary with a child aged 3-4 years, who can understand English and are experiencing high levels of depression, anxiety, or anger. Parents with children having significant cognitive disorders or those with recent self-harm history cannot participate.

Inclusion Criteria

Living in the Vancouver or Calgary area

I am a parent and I am 18 years old or older.

I am comfortable with English for understanding, speaking, and reading.

Exclusion Criteria

Does not live in the Vancouver or Calgary area

I do not have severe symptoms of depression, anxiety, or anger.

My child has a condition like Down Syndrome or epilepsy, or cannot have an MRI due to metal implants.

Timeline for a Trial Participant

Screening

Participants are screened for eligibility to participate in the trial

2-4 weeks

Treatment

Participants engage with the BEAM app, which includes weekly mental health and parenting videos, peer coaching, and access to a forum and optional Zoom sessions.

12 weeks

Weekly check-ins (virtual)

Follow-up

Participants are monitored for changes in mental health, parenting stress, and child development outcomes.

6 months

Assessments at post-intervention and 6 months post-intervention

What Are the Treatments Tested in This Trial?

Interventions

• Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health in Parenting (BEAM)

Trial Overview This study tests the BEAM app, which offers videos on mental health and parenting, peer coaching, forums, and live sessions to support parents' mental health. The goal is to see how it affects parental stress, child behavior and development. Half of the participants will continue their usual treatments.

How Is the Trial Designed?

Group I: BEAM Program Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

The BEAM Program is delivered via mobile application, weekly check-ins, and peer coaching. BEAM includes videos with emotion-regulation strategies that come from the Unified Protocol (evidence-based treatment for depression and anxiety disorders) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) to help with mental health, as well they focus on developing self-compassion and effective communication. There are also supportive parenting videos which focus on providing parents with emotion-focused parenting strategies, based on Tuning in to Kids® and Parent Management Training - The Oregon Model (PMTO), which aim to help parents better understand and respond to their child. There will be approximately 15-20 minutes of videos to watch weekly.

Group II: Treatment-As-Usual Active Control 1 Intervention

This is the control arm of the study. It is designed to account for the potential effects of time on symptoms of depression, anxiety, and anger.

Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health in Parenting (BEAM) is already approved in Canada for the following indications:

Approved in Canada as BEAM for:

• Postpartum depression
• Anxiety
• Anger

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

University of Calgary

Lead Sponsor

Trials

827

Recruited

902,000+

Alberta Children's Hospital

Collaborator

Trials

58

Recruited

44,700+

Provincial Health Services Authority

Collaborator

Trials

40

Recruited

31,900+

Brain Canada

Collaborator

Trials

22

Recruited

6,100+

MindSea Development

Collaborator

Trials

1

Recruited

240+

Workerbee.tv

Collaborator

Trials

1

Recruited

240+

Published Research Related to This Trial

The BEAM app-based program is being tested in a randomized controlled trial with 140 mothers experiencing moderate-to-severe depression and/or anxiety, aiming to reduce maternal depression symptoms and improve overall family functioning over a 10-week intervention period.

This study addresses the urgent need for accessible mental health support for mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the potential to enhance maternal and child health outcomes in the long term.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health (BEAM): study protocol for a phase III randomized controlled trial of the BEAM app-based program for mothers of children 18-36 months. Xie, EB., Simpson, KM., Reynolds, KA., et al.[2022]

The psychoeducational app significantly reduced parenting stress among users, with a reported decrease in stress levels compared to a waitlist control group, indicating its potential effectiveness in supporting parents of children with crying, sleeping, and feeding issues.

Parents using the app also gained more knowledge about their children's symptoms, suggesting that the app not only helps reduce stress but also educates parents, which could lead to better management of their children's issues.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Effects of a Mobile-Based Intervention for Parents of Children With Crying, Sleeping, and Feeding Problems: Randomized Controlled Trial. Augustin, M., Licata-Dandel, M., Breeman, LD., et al.[2023]

The Mindful Moment program, a web-based training for postpartum mothers, was found to be feasible and acceptable, with 90% of participants rating it as good or excellent and 86.4% willing to recommend it to others.

Preliminary results indicated that mothers who completed the program experienced significant reductions in parenting stress and perceived infant temperament difficulties, along with increases in dispositional mindfulness, suggesting potential effectiveness in supporting mental health for new mothers.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A Web-Based, Mindful, and Compassionate Parenting Training for Mothers Experiencing Parenting Stress: Results from a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Mindful Moment Program. Fernandes, DV., Monteiro, F., Canavarro, MC., et al.[2022]

The Interactive Child Distress Screener (ICDS) is a new digital tool designed to assess emotional and behavioral distress in children aged 5 to 11, and it was developed through a participatory design process involving 62 children.

Out of 30 animated assessment items tested, 73% were well-received and understood by the children, indicating high acceptability and suggesting that the tool is likely effective for accurately capturing children's self-reported distress.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Co-design and qualitative validation of animated assessment item content for a child-reported digital distress screener. Zieschank, K., Day, J., Ireland, MJ., et al.[2022]

The BEAM program, an App-based intervention co-developed with mothers, showed promise in improving mental health outcomes, particularly reducing anxiety and sleep symptoms among mothers with moderate-to-severe depression, compared to a treatment as usual control group.

With 65 participants in a 10-week randomized control trial, the program was found to be feasible and acceptable, with high engagement rates, and no adverse events reported, indicating it could be a valuable resource for supporting maternal mental health during challenging times.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health (BEAM): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of an App-Based Program for Mothers of Toddlers. MacKinnon, AL., Simpson, KM., Salisbury, MR., et al.[2023]

The smartphone app designed to promote mental well-being did not significantly increase 'Sharing, Mind, and Enjoyment' (SME) behaviors among adolescents, with only 11.2% of students using it with their parents, but it did enhance awareness of anxious symptoms significantly at both 1 and 3 months follow-up.

Post hoc analysis revealed that students who used the app with their parents showed a notable increase in SME-related behaviors at 3 months compared to the control group, suggesting that parental involvement may enhance the app's effectiveness.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

A Smartphone App for Promoting Mental Well-being and Awareness of Anxious Symptoms in Adolescents: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. Sun, Y., Wang, MP., Ho, SY., et al.[2022]

Emotion-focused family therapy (EFFT) effectively helps parents address their emotional fears and improve their confidence in supporting children with mental health issues, as shown in a study involving four therapists and 16 parents.

The two-chair intervention in EFFT facilitates awareness and interrupts negative parenting patterns, leading to significant emotional resolution for most parents after the therapy sessions.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Processes and outcomes of an emotion-focused family therapy two-chair intervention for transforming problematic parenting patterns. Sabey, AK., Stillar, A., Lafrance, A.[2022]

The Internet-based educational intervention combined with peer support significantly reduced parental stress among 131 mothers with serious mental illnesses, showing lasting effects even 18 months after the intervention.

This low-cost and accessible approach highlights the potential for online resources to effectively support parenting skills and coping strategies for mothers facing mental health challenges.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Randomized Controlled Trial of an Internet-Based Educational Intervention for Mothers With Mental Illnesses: An 18-Month Follow-Up. O'Shea, A., Kaplan, K., Solomon, P., et al.[2020]

Parents in the UK are increasingly turning to Mumsnet, a large online parenting forum, for emotional support and advice regarding their children's mental health needs due to limited access to professional services.

Analysis of 41 discussion threads revealed that the primary use of Mumsnet is for parents to share emotional experiences and practical advice, highlighting the potential for web-based peer support to complement traditional mental health services.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Use of Mumsnet by Parents of Young People With Mental Health Needs: Qualitative Investigation. Croucher, L., Mertan, E., Shafran, R., et al.[2020]

The BEAM program is a mobile health initiative designed to improve both maternal mental health and parenting skills simultaneously, addressing the increased rates of maternal depression and anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A pilot randomized controlled trial will assess the feasibility and effectiveness of the BEAM program among mothers with depression and/or anxiety, providing valuable data to inform larger future studies.

NCBI (Pubmed)

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Building Emotional Awareness and Mental health (BEAM) program developed with a community partner for mothers of infants: protocol for a feasibility randomized controlled trial. Joyce, KM., Rioux, C., MacKinnon, AL., et al.[2023]

Citations

1. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35815022/

Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health (BEAM) The BEAM program has promise as a novel, feasible and acceptable intervention for improving mental health among mothers of young children.

2. bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-025-06964-4

Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health (BEAM ... Clinical trials to date evaluating BEAM have shown promising results, demonstrating reductions in parent depression, suicidality, anxiety, and ...

3. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06455397

Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health (BEAM) ... Clinical trials to date evaluating BEAM have shown promising results, demonstrating reductions in parent depression, anxiety, and harsh parenting practices.

4. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40457257/

Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health (BEAM) Clinical trials to date evaluating BEAM have shown promising results, demonstrating reductions in parent depression, suicidality, anxiety, and ...

5. scholars.uky.edu scholars.uky.edu/en/publications/building-emotional-awareness-and-mental-health-beam-a-pilot-rando

Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health (BEAM) The BEAM program includes weekly videos and activities based on Unified Protocol therapy modules and emotion-focused parenting strategies, a ...

6. clinicaltrials.gov clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT04772677

Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health (BEAM) The BEAM program is a novel mobile app-based therapeutic intervention that incorporates key parenting concepts and Unified Protocol (UP) therapy modules with ...