Prospective cohort feasibility study of a transdiagnostic group intervention for common mental health problems: The Take Control Course

Objectives: While transdiagnostic psychological treatments appear to be promising, they require greater empirical support. This study is a preliminary examination of the effectiveness, feasibility and acceptability of a new transdiagnostic 6-session group-based intervention (Take Control Course; TCC) predominantly aimed at clients within primary care. Briefer interventions are gaining an increasing evidence base and this study seeks to compare the TCC to an established brief intervention within primary care. Design: Prospective cohort study comparing two active psychological treatments. Methods: TCC group (n = 66) was compared to a non-randomised control group of clients accessing low-intensity interventions (n = 43) using random-effect regression models. Primary outcomes were depression and anxiety scores; additional outcomes included social and other functioning. Results: For the TCC group, changes on all pre-post outcomes were significant with moderate effect sizes. The between group differences were not significant. Conclusions: Results show potential for TCC to be an effective intervention, but further work is required to validate these findings in a more rigorous, randomised study.