Examining the potential of an internet-based emotion regulation intervention added to acute psychiatric inpatient care: results from a randomized controlled pilot trial

The feasibility and the preliminary effectiveness of an internet-based emotion regulation intervention added to acute psychiatric inpatient care were assessed with a randomized controlled pilot trial. Sixty patients were allocated in a 1:1 ratio to the intervention group or treatment as usual (TAU). Feasibility was evaluated via patient satisfaction, system usability, and program usage. The primary outcome was symptom severity (Brief-Syptom-Inventory-18-GSI), secondary outcomes included two emotion regulation measures. Assessments occurred at baseline, after four weeks (T1), eight weeks (T2), and patient discharge. Satisfaction scores (CSQ-8: M = 2.97, SD = 0.64) and usability ratings (SUS: M = 69.89, SD = 10.34) were positive. Program usage was low, with only 12 of 30 patients completing at least 50 % of the program. In the ITT-analysis, no significant group-by-time interaction effects were found for symptom severity or emotion regulation. Descriptively, effect sizes favored the intervention for symptom severity at T1 (d = 0.16) and T2 (d = 0.12) and favored TAU for the emotion regulation parameters at both time points. Thus, while the internet-based program showed good usability and satisfaction, it did not significantly impact symptom severity or emotion regulation. Future research should examine how to enhance program use in this treatment context.