Clinical trial · Interventional
Virtual Art Therapy Assisted Re-Integration to Improve Biopsychosocial Outcomes in Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Survivors, AVATARS Trial
AVATARS: Adolescent and Young Adult Virtual Art Therapy Assisted Re-Integration During Cancer Survivorship
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
This clinical trial tests the feasibility, usability and acceptability of a virtual art therapy assisted re-integration (AVATARS) intervention to improve biopsychosocial outcomes, such as anxiety, depression, resilience, emotional regulation, stress, and cognition, among adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer survivors. AYA cancer survivors (especially those treated at adult cancer centers) historically experience worse psychosocial outcomes and lack age appropriate psychosocial support compared to older adult cancer survivors. Creative art therapy accesses the limbic system to provide a corrective emotional experience in response to trauma and can help patients visually express depression, anxiety, and existential fears, process traumatic events, and regain agency and control. The AVATARS intervention may be a feasible, useable and acceptable way to improve biopsychosocial outcomes among AYA cancer survivors.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hematopoietic and Lymphatic System Neoplasm | Hematopoietic and Lymphatic System Neoplasm | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
| Malignant Solid Neoplasm | Malignant Solid Neoplasm | ONTOLOGY_EXACT | 0.98 |
Interventions
Interventions (3)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art Therapy | Procedure | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Interview | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
| Survey Administration | Other | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (1)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Supportive care (Virtual art therapy)
- description
- Patients complete virtual art therapy sessions, over 60 minutes, every 1-2 weeks, for 4 sessions. Patients then receive a 3D printed replica of their avatar.
- interventionNames
- Procedure: Art Therapy
- Other: Interview
- Other: Survey Administration
Primary outcomes (8)
- measure
- Feasibility-Enrollment
- timeFrame
- Up to 4 months
- description
- Assessed via the percentage of eligible participants who enroll in this study.
- measure
- Feasibility-Completion
- timeFrame
- Up to 4 months
- description
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 10 Years
- Maximum age
- 25 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * If young adult- aged 18-25 years of age at the time of enrollment and able to provide informed consent, if adolescent- aged 10-17 years at the time of enrollment and able to provide * Mild or greater depression \[Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-A) score \> 5\] * Received a cancer diagnosis during the past year, or completed cancer treatment within the past five years (extended survivorship) * Have access to an electronic device which supports virtual videoconferencing (e.g., personal device or public library access) * Able to read and write in English Exclusion Criteria: * Visual or cognitive impairment which may impede completing the art project or the data collection measures * Endorsed suicidality (via PHQ-A or otherwise)
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available