Feasibility Study Comparing Two Therapies for Functional Seizures in Children and Teens Aged 11 to 18

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the feasibility of conducting a larger multi-site randomized controlled trial comparing two treatments for children and teenagers aged 11 to 18 who have functional seizures FS. This study focuses on testing how well recruitment, retention, acceptability, treatment adherence, and therapy fidelity work across three sites University of Alabama at Birmingham, Yale School of MedicineYale New Haven Childrens Hospital, and Baylor College of MedicineTexas Childrens Hospital. Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either Retraining and Control Therapy ReACT or Competent Adulthood Transition with Cognitive Behavioral, Humanistic, and Interpersonal Training CATCH-IT. Both treatments include 12 therapy sessions, with the first session held in person lasting about 2 hours and the following 11 sessions delivered via video telehealth lasting about 1 hour each. ReACT involves working with a therapist to develop a plan to manage seizures, while CATCH-IT uses online CBT modules for the parent and child, supported by 12 coaching sessions. Participants and their caregivers will complete baseline and follow-up visits via secure video calls, including questionnaires about mood, relationships, and seizure symptoms. They will keep a seizure diary throughout the study. Follow-ups occur one week and two months after therapy ends, with additional long-term follow-ups at six and twelve months. Researchers will measure recruitment success, acceptability, retention rates, treatment adherence, seizure frequency, quality of life, and other psychological and functional outcomes to guide future larger trials.

A Multi-site Feasibility Clinical Trial of Retraining and Control Therapy (ReACT), a Mind and Body Treatment for Pediatric Functional Seizures