Can peer counselors help women who use meth? vietnam trial tests friendship bench
NCT ID NCT06789523
First seen Sep 16, 2026 · Last updated Sep 17, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers in Vietnam are testing a peer-counseling program called Friendship Bench for women who use methamphetamine and have common mental health problems like depression, anxiety, or stress. The program trains peer workers to lead six weekly one-on-one sessions that help participants identify problems and find solutions. The pilot enrolls 100 women and measures whether the program is feasible, acceptable, and delivered as intended, along with changes in mental health symptoms.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Friendship Bench, a peer-counseling program with six weekly one-on-one sessions
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could give Vietnam and other lower-income countries a low-cost, peer-delivered way to reach women who use methamphetamine and struggle with depression or anxiety.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small pilot with 100 women, so it cannot prove the program works. Many participants may drop out, and the results may not hold in a larger trial or in other countries.
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
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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
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jun 2025
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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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
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Female participants only
- Healthy volunteers
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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 Hide 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: * Adult women (\>=18 years old) * Moderate or greater risk for meth use (ASSIST ≥ 4) * Moderate or greater CMD symptom severity (Depression ≥ 10, Anxiety ≥ 8, and/or Stress ≥ 15 on DASS-21) Exclusion Criteria: * Severe psychotic disorders or other interfering problems that require specialty care; * Inability to understand study procedures by the research team's judgment.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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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
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Friendship Bench & Lighthouse
RECRUITINGHaiphong, Hai Phong, 100000, Vietnam
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