New study tests whether helping others can help you feel less lonely
NCT ID NCT06510439
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests a program called 'Need to Be Needed' (N2BN) that uses volunteering to help adults with serious mental illness feel more connected and less lonely. 120 participants will either join the volunteering program or receive weekly listening support. Researchers will measure changes in loneliness, social networks, and well-being over six months.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Need to Be Needed (N2BN) intervention (volunteering with support)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could provide a low-cost, community-based way to reduce loneliness and improve social connection for people with serious mental illness.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage trial with only 120 participants, so results may not apply to everyone. The intervention relies on volunteering, which may not suit all individuals.
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 120 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2024
- Expected to finish
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May 2035
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 to 99 years
- 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: 1. A research diagnosis of Major Depression, Bipolar I, II, or Schizophrenia Spectrum disorder. Participants will be screened by research staff using sections of the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI; Sheehan et al., 1998) that will identify research diagnoses of: Major Depression, Bipolar I, II, or Schizophrenia Spectrum disorder. 2. Ages 18 years old and older 3. Living in the community 4. Able to communicate in written and oral English 5. UCLA-Loneliness Scale score of 6 or higher Exclusion Criteria: 1. Having a legal guardian 2. Unable to give informed consent. 3. Living situation which restricts their ability to move freely Potential participants failing to meet screening criteria will be informed at the time that we are not able to enroll them in the study at this time. Any interview notes, or information recorded on the MINI will be destroyed or securely deleted. The study will not enroll any vulnerable populations.
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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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Hall Mercer
RECRUITINGPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, 19106, United States
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