Frequently Asked Questions

This study is testing to see if digital mental health treatments can help treat symptoms of depression. The treatment uses training exercises to help change attention patterns associated with depression. People tend to subconsciously focus their attention on specific triggers; for example, if given the choice between a sad face and a happy face, someone might be more likely to always look at the sad face. This study aims to try to alter this. Your participation in the study will contribute to a better understanding of the mental processes involved with depression, and how they might be impacted with digital interventions. 

All participants are randomly assigned to a condition. This study is double-blinded, meaning that neither the participant nor the clinician may know what intervention the participants receive due to potential effects this may have on the study. 

The initial appointment takes up to 2.5 hours due to the onboarding process taking additional time. After the initial appointment, you will be scheduled for once weekly in-person follow-up appointments for the following four weeks that take approximately 1 hour each. During this time period, you will also be asked to complete treatment sessions virtually on your device four times a week that take about 15 minutes each. After this four week period, you will complete 3 symptom assessments (15 minutes each) over a 6-month follow-up period. In total, the time commitment is approximately 8 hours across the 6 month duration of your participation in the study. 

After your initial in-person onboarding appointment is complete, you will be scheduled to come in 4 more times. These appointments will occur once a week for approximately 1 hour each, meaning that you will have in-person commitments for the next 4 weeks after onboarding.  

Eye-tracking allows researchers to measure data relevant to emotional and attentional patterns associated with depression. As participants focus their attention on specific things, (e.g. words, images of faces, scenes, or objects) we are able to track patterns of eye movement and attention that provide useful data in examining response to training sessions. Eye-tracking is non-invasive and a pain free procedure, with exception to a select group of participants who may be sensitive to the use of infrared light.

This study is confidential, and any identifying personal information will not be mentioned in the study or shared publicly. Only our MDL research team will have access to your information, as well as any affiliated research or mental health institutions.

You will receive $25 for each of the five weekly assessments you complete, totaling to $125 upon completion. After these assessments, there will be three symptom and functioning follow-up assessments completed remotely. You will receive $15 per assessment with completion bonuses increasing for each additional follow-up assessment, totaling to $100 upon completion of all follow-up assessments. Compensation for completion of ALL assessments totals to $225. Payments will be made in the form of Giftogram, which allows you to choose from a variety of gift cards.

You may find information about the giftcard retailers here: https://knowledge.giftogram.com/en/help-center/available-gift-card-retailers

To ensure that we can test the success levels of this treatment, we require that participants complete a minimum amount of training sessions in this study. If you miss 4 or more of the total 16 online sessions, your data might not be part of our final analysis. It is highly encouraged that you complete all of your sessions!

If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment, we ask that you do so at least 48 hours in advance. We will send text and call reminders about your appointments and give you the opportunity to either confirm your appointment or reschedule it, if necessary. If you do not respond to our messages within 24 hours, we will send a follow up message. If you do not respond to the follow up message within 24 hours, your appointment will be canceled. If you do not show up to your appointment but confirmed that you will be there, we will send a check in message. The same response policy will apply. Our late policy is 20 minutes. If you show up any later than 20 minutes past your appointment time, we will not be able to complete your session and will have to reschedule your appointment.

If you have any questions about the study or need to update your email address, contact the researcher at (512) 232-4750 or send an email to mdl@utexas.edu. If you have questions about your rights or are dissatisfied at any time with any part of this study you can contact, anonymously if desired, the Institutional Review Board by phone at (512) 232-1543 or email irb@austin.utexas.edu. If a conflict arises for any appointments scheduled for the coming weeks, please text us at (512) 710 - 6551 or email us at utattentionbiasstudy@gmail.com

When emailing utattentionbiastudy@gmail.com, in your email subject line please mention your name and one of the corresponding options below: 

For general study concerns: “(your name) and study concerns”

For scheduling: “(your name) and scheduling”

For treatment concerns: “(your name) and treatment”