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Original Research Early Career Psychiatrists October 27, 2025

Brief Video Intervention to Increase Treatment-Seeking Intentions Among Young Adults With Psychiatric Symptoms: A Randomized Controlled Trial

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J Clin Psychiatry 2025;86(4):25m15881

Abstract

Objective: Brief social contact–based video interventions are effective in decreasing self-stigma and increasing treatment-seeking intentions. The present study is the first to target essential workers with self-reported anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesized that viewers of the intervention would show greater increases in treatment-seeking intentions than nonviewers and that those without prior mental health diagnoses or care would have larger increases than those with past mental health care engagement. Additionally, participants who were more emotionally engaged with the intervention would experience greater treatment-seeking intention increases.

Methods: This randomized controlled trial recruited 1,309 essential workers via crowdsourcing who self-reported threshold levels of anxiety, depression, or PTSD symptoms to view either a brief social contact–based video intervention or a control video. Participants’ treatment-seeking intentions were assessed using 3 items from the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help–Short Form at baseline, immediately postintervention, and 30 days afterward.

Results: Generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses revealed an immediate group-by-time effect of increased treatment-seeking intentions in the intervention group (P = .006, Cohen d = 0.22). Further GEE analyses revealed significant effects among individuals in the intervention group without prior psychiatric diagnoses (P < .001, Cohen d = 0.41), as compared to those with psychiatric diagnoses, and among those without prior treatment experience (P < .001, Cohen d = 0.40) compared to those who had. Participants who were more emotionally engaged experienced significantly greater increases in treatment-seeking intentions (P < .001).

Conclusion: All hypotheses were supported, indicating the efficacy of a brief video intervention in increasing treatment-seeking intentions among essential workers with clinical needs. These results highlight the ability of brief, easily disseminated interventions to reach those most in need of care and effectively increase treatment-seeking intentions.

Trial Registration: Trial identifier: NCT05826132.

J Clin Psychiatry 2025;86(4):25m15881

Author affiliations are listed at the end of this article.

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