Projects
Here you can find information about ongoing and completed projects at EMBRACE lab.
Ongoing
Development, feasibility, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of an online ACT intervention for Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction (iACTforDGBI)
This project focuses on developing and evaluating an online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and compassion-based intervention for individuals suffering from Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction (e.g., IBS) and comorbid psychological distress in Sweden. A pilot study and full-scale Randomized Controlled Trial on the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of iACTforDGBI will be conducted. We ultimately aim to assess the efficacy of this intervention in alleviating anxiety and depressive symptoms, and the economic benefits of its implementation. This project is funded by FORTE.
iACTforDGBI
Ongoing
Mind programme for cancer patients: A randomized controlled trial testing the programme’s cost-effectiveness and efficacy in changing psychological and biological outcomes in women with breast cancer
This project encompasses two randomized controlled trials that have the main aim of testing the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the Mind programme in Portuguese women with BC. The Mind programme is an integrative, face-to-face ACT and compassion-based intervention tailored for women with breast cancer, which aims to prepare women for survivorship by promoting psychological flexibility and self-compassion. A pilot study of the Mind programme has shown acceptability and preliminary efficacy in improving psychological health. We now aim to optimize the intervention and test its efficacy in improving cancer-specific quality of life, psychological health, and inflammatory and epigenetic indicators, as well as economic cost-effectiveness. This project is funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.
Mind
Ongoing
A longitudinal investigation of the determinants of health in inflammatory bowel disease
Our team is also working on a project that longitudinally examines the impact of physical, psychological, and social factors on important patient-reported outcomes in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This project is based on our previous longitudinal studies on the effects of IBD symptoms, self-compassion, cognitive fusion, among other factors on physical and psychosocial functioning in IBD.
Determinants of health in IBD
Completed
Mental health after infection: Effects of COVID-19 on survivors’ psychosocial functioning
This project, the first to analyze psychosocial outcomes in Portuguese SARS-CoV-2 survivors, aimed to study the impact of the infection on relevant psychological and social outcomes, and to analyze which contextual factors and psychological processes were linked to an effective response to survivorship. This project was funded by the laCaixa Foundation.
Mental health after infection
Completed
@LIIT.CI: Low Intensity Internet-Therapy for Chronic Illness
This study compared, through a randomized controlled trial, the acceptability and efficacy of low-intensity four-session online interventions of ACT and Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) in a sample of people with chronic illness. This was the first study that compared ACT and CFT. Results from this trial can be found here.