Unmute's Culturally Affirming Racial Equity (CARE) Study: Strengthening the Cross-Racial Alliance and Promote Equity

Launched by NEW YORK UNIVERSITY · Oct 1, 2024

Keywords

ClinConnect Summary

The Unmute Culturally Affirming Racial Equity (CARE) Study aims to find out if a new therapy approach can help Asian American individuals feel more comfortable and engaged in psychotherapy, even when their therapist does not share the same cultural background. The study will focus on whether this CARE method helps build a positive relationship between non-Asian therapists and Asian American patients, and whether it leads to improvements in issues like depression and anxiety. Participants will receive up to 15 weekly online therapy sessions and will complete surveys to share their experiences.

To participate, individuals must be 18 or older, identify as Asian or Asian American, live in New York, and be proficient in English. They should also be looking for short-term mental health treatment and willing to have their sessions recorded. Therapists involved in the study must be licensed mental health providers with at least two years of experience and a desire to improve their skills in working with Asian American clients. Please note that the study is not yet recruiting participants, but it seeks to create a more culturally sensitive therapy experience that could benefit many people.

Gender

ALL

Eligibility criteria

• Inclusion Criteria:
• Patient Participants:
• • 1. Individuals 18 years of age or older, who identify as Asian or Asian American
• • 2. Physically residing in New York state and willing to meet therapist over video platform
• • 3. English-language proficient
• • 4. Seeking telemental health treatment and willing to receive short-term treatment (maximum 15 sessions)
• • 5. Willingness to have sessions videorecorded and complete online assessments
• • 6. Has insurance coverage for therapy sessions or willing to pay for services out-of-pocket ($150/session)
• Therapist Participants:
• • 1. Masters' level mental health provider licensed to practice in NY and insured
• • 2. 2+ years of clinical experience post-licensure
• • 3. Training and experience with cognitive behavioral therapy or other evidence-based therapies
• • 4. Interest in improving skills in working with Asian American patients
• • 5. Willingness to complete post-session questionnaires, record treatment sessions and attend biweekly AFT sessions for training and research purposes
• • 6. Availability to treat a caseload of 5 Unmute patients during the project period
• Exclusion Criteria:
• Patient Participants:
• • 1. Patient's symptom presentation is severe beyond what can be effectively managed in a short-term treatment modality via telehealth (e.g., PHQ-9 score \> 20, they present a risk of harm to self or other, or otherwise require a higher level of care)
• • 2. Patient is involved in another intervention study or currently receiving psychotherapy services from another provider.suicidal ideation or psychotic symptoms
• Therapist Participants:
• • Licensure violations or enforcement actions as documented on the New York State Office of the Professions website https://www.op.nysed.gov/