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Can teens learn to rewire their brain to stop Self-Harm?

NCT ID NCT05656001

Symptom relief Sponsor: Region Östergötland Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

What the study statuses mean

This study's is highlighted.

Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now This study
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Sep 16, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

Researchers are testing whether real-time fMRI neurofeedback and biofeedback can help adolescents with nonsuicidal self-injury learn to regulate their emotions. Sixty participants aged 15 to 19 who have self-injured at least five times in the past six months will receive either brain-based neurofeedback or body-based biofeedback across three training sessions. The study measures changes in emotional reactivity and self-injury frequency to see if these techniques offer a new way to reduce self-harm.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
Real-time fMRI neurofeedback and real-time biofeedback training
What this could lead to
If it works, this could offer adolescents a non-drug way to practice emotion regulation and reduce self-injury. It could also point to brain-based training as a complement to talk therapy.
What could go wrong
This is a small early study with 60 participants, and brain training may not translate into lasting changes in self-injury. Some adolescents may find the scanner or feedback sessions uncomfortable or difficult.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Not a phased trial

Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.

Participants

About 60 people

The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.

Started

Sep 2021

Expected to finish

Sep 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

15 to 19 years

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: * ongoing contact at the child- and adolescent psychiatric clinics in both Linköping and Norrköping, Sweden * ongoing contact at the primary care facilities in Linköping and Norrköping (Ungdomshälsan, Råd, Stöd \& Hälsa) * NSSI, independent of psychiatric diagnosis * between 15 and 19 years of age * having engaged in five or more instances of NSSI during the last six months * the patient is cognitively capable to decide for him- or herself Exclusion Criteria: * anorexia in starvation with BMI 16 or under * substance abuse disorder * psychosis * needing interpreter * intellectual disability * and for those who do the neurofeedback, severe claustrophobia, pregnancy and braces

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

Emotional Regulation Self-Injurious Behavior

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Emotion regulation Nonsuicidal self-injury

How to take part

Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.

  1. The places running it

    1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.

  2. The official record

    ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.

    Open the record ↗

  3. A doctor treating you

    A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Region Östergötland

    RECRUITING

    Linköping, 581 85, Sweden

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