Autobiographical Time Travel to Alleviate Loneliness in Older Adults

Sponsor
Baycrest
Study ID
NCT07792356
Status
Not Yet Recruiting

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Conditions

  • Aging
  • Loneliness

Eligibility Criteria

Sex
ALL
Age
65 Years - N/A
Healthy Volunteers
Not accepted

Interventions

  • Mental Time Travel Group — BEHAVIORAL
    12 groups of six participants each. Groups will attend two 90- minute therapeutic sessions per week over a four-week period. A structured protocol session format will be used, including a short check-in, brief-assessment (i.e., PANAS and BCSS), the core session activity, a second brief-assessment (i.e., PANAS and BCSS), and a closing reflection. The primary session activities will consist of reminiscence induction, imagery rescripting, and positive prospection. In all these sessions, participants will be asked to write down their thoughts in response to the session prompts/exercises which they will not be required to share with the rest of the group. In addition to these sessions, participants will continue their usual weekly social group programming at the Kimel Centre.
  • Social Engagement Group Activities — BEHAVIORAL
    Participants in this condition will continue engaging in their usual weekly social group programming provided at the Kimel Centre. The Kimel Centre offers over 300 group-based programs across multiple categories, including Fitness \& Aquatics, Lectures \& Continued Education, Mind, Body, and Soul Wellness, Performing Arts, Nutrition \& Cooking, and Fine Arts \& Crafts, with offerings varying seasonally.

Study Details

The goal of this clinical trial is to examine whether updating fundamental beliefs about self, others and the world using a mental time-travel group program can reduce loneliness and improve well-being in older adults when combined with multimodal social engagement opportunities. Over the span of eight sessions, participants within the experimental group will be guided to complete autobiographical simulations grounded in therapeutic techniques including reminiscence, imagery rescripting and positive future thinking. Participants within the active control group will be instructed to continue with their usual social group activities.

Key Dates

First listed
Aug 28, 2026
Start date
Aug 15, 2026
Status verified
Aug 2026
Primary completion
Jun 30, 2027
Completion
Aug 20, 2027

Study Design

Enrollment
144 participants (estimated)
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT

Arms

  • Experimental: Mental Time Travel Group
    Participants in this arm will participate in the 8-session Mental Time Travel group in addition to their regular social programming at the Kimel Family Centre at Baycrest.
  • Active Comparator: Social Engagement Control Group
    Participants in this arm will participate in their regular social programming at the Kimel Family Centre at Baycrest.

Primary Outcome Measure

UCLA Loneliness Scale (Version 3) [ Time Frame: Baseline, 1-month post baseline, 3-month follow-up, and 6-month follow-up ]

Central Contacts

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