Messy Memories: Mobile Application Therapy Following Critical Illness
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Columbia University
- Where
- New York, United StatesSee the site
- Trial code
- Status
- Completed
- People taking part
- 29 people enrolled
- Started
- 31 Oct 2023
- Ended
- 4 Sept 2024
- Type of study
- Interventional
- Treatments tested
- Messy Memories Intervention
- Record updated
- 22 September 2025
Who can take part
- Age
- 18 years and older
- Sex
- Women and men
- Healthy volunteers
- Cannot take part
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 10 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Age 18 years old or older
- Able to speak and write in English
- Previously admitted to an ICU
- Have internet access (e.g., Wi-Fi)
- Have access to an internet-equipped smartphone device (e.g., iPhone, Android)
- Meet a minimum threshold of psychological distress related to their prior critical illness as demonstrated by scoring ≥10 points on the PTSD Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (PCL-5, see Measures section for a complete description)
Who cannot take part
- ICU discharge occurred <30 days prior to the time of study enrollment
- Unable to comply with the protocol (either self-selected or indicating that s/he/they cannot complete all requested tasks) for reasons that include, but are not limited to, cognitive impairment (e.g., dementia), alcohol and/or substance abuse, or severe mental illness (e.g., schizophrenia)
- Unavailable for follow-up for reasons such as terminal illness and imminent plans to leave the United States (as this study may include migrant or mobile patients due to their citizenship and work issues)
- Score <10 points on the PCL-5 during the initial eligibility screening
Where in United States
- Columbia University Irving Medical CenterNew York, United States
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The overall goal of this study is to determine whether English-speaking adults who were discharged from an intensive care unit (ICU) at least one month ago and have some level of distress related to their ICU experience will be interested in, willing to use, and satisfied with a new mobile application (app) designed to help the user process a difficult memory. Participants must have internet access and a smartphone in order to use the app. The goal of the app is to help reduce the psychological distress associated with a memory by processing that memory at one's own pace with app guidance. Participants will be asked to use the app for 6 weeks at least 3 times a week for 30 or more minutes at a time. Participants will also be asked to complete questionnaires over a 12-week period.
Read full original descriptionShow less
The investigators aim to test how possible and realistic it is for people who were hospitalized with a critical illness to voluntarily use this app to process relevant distressing memories of their hospitalization. The investigators hope that these results will inform the design of a larger trial that will be able to test if this app can reduce distress in this patient population, as the app may offer affordable and accessible help for some patients experiencing illness-related distress.
The group in the trial
- Messy Memories InterventionTreatment being tested
All participants enrolled in the study will be assigned to the experimental arm and participate in the Messy Memories intervention.
Data and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Messy Memories: A Mobile Application Exposure Therapy Intervention to Reduce Psychological Distress and Improve Health Behaviors Following Critical Illness
- Record updated
- 22 September 2025