Rewriting the past to fight loneliness: a new group therapy for seniors
NCT ID NCT07792356
First seen Aug 28, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026
Summary
This trial tests whether a group program called mental time travel can reduce loneliness and improve well-being in adults aged 65 and older. Over eight sessions, participants use techniques like reminiscence, imagery rescripting, and positive future thinking to update their beliefs about themselves and others. The program is compared with usual social group activities. The study measures changes in loneliness, mood, and depressive symptoms.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Mental Time Travel Group program, a behavioral intervention using reminiscence, imagery rescripting, and positive future thinking in group sessions
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a new, drug-free way to ease loneliness and boost well-being in older adults.
- What could go wrong
- The trial is small and early, and the benefits may not last or apply to everyone. Some participants might find revisiting memories emotionally 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
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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 144 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Aug 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2027
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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65 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- 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: * Age ≥65 * Elevated loneliness based on a pre-specified cutoff of 44 on the UCLA version 3 Loneliness Scale (Russell, 1997) * Capacity to provide informed consent * Ability to participate in group sessions twice a week for four weeks Exclusion Criteria: * A diagnosis of dementia, mild cognitive impairment, stroke, other neurodegenerative disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, personality disorders * Any condition that would limit participants' capacity to benefit from or safely and comfortably complete the protocol. Given the nature of the protocol, which involves autobiographical memory recall in a group setting, individuals with a history of trauma-related diagnoses (e.g., PTSD or acute stress disorder) and/or those who score in the severe or extremely severe range on any of the depression (≥ 21), anxiety (≥ 15), or stress (≥ 26) subscales of the DASS-21, will be excluded in order to minimize the risk of significant distress during sessions * Participants who are unable to complete short questionnaires at each session and online at follow-up will be excluded
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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 study's own enquiry address
This study publishes an address for enquiries. See it below .
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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
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Contacts and locations
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Study contacts
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Contact
Email: •••••@•••••
Locations
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Baycrest Academy for Research and Education
Toronto, Ontario, M6A 2E1, Canada
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