[UG/MS/PhD] Advance Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Tools: NIH Research Study

The following announcement is from [Lydia Ignatova]. Please contact them directly if you have any questions.

My name is Lydia Ignatova, and I am a PhD student at University of Southern California. I am conducting a research study to develop a socially assistive robot (SAR) companion to support at-home cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) exercises.

I am recruiting individuals who meet these criteria:

• Are currently an enrolled university student

• Are over the age of 18

• Have normal or corrected to normal hearing and vision

• Are fluent in English

• Are willing to meet at USC for an in-person co-design session

• Have clinically elevated levels of generalized anxiety

• Have lower than minimal risk of suicide*

If you decide to participate in this study, you will be asked to do the following activities:

• Complete an interest survey online on REDCap for 5 minutes.

• Sign a consent form for 5 minutes.

• Complete a pre-study survey online on REDCap for 15 minutes.

• Complete a study onboarding appointment with a researcher on campus for 40 minutes.

• Participate in the 6-week study by interacting with the SAR CBT platform four to five times a week for 30-45 minute each session, wearing a FitBit, and completing surveys.

• Return the study equipment, and complete an exit interview with one of the researchers on campus for 45 minutes.

*If a high risk of suicide is determined based on the screening questionnaires, the study personnel are required to report to USC Counseling & Mental Health, and USC Trojans Care for Trojans (TC4T) in order to provide appropriate and immediate support for the student.

Participants in this study will receive up to a $250 Amazon gift card via email after the 6-week study.

If you are interested in participating in this study, please fill out our REDCap screening survey at this link: https://redcap.link/x0hr8y96

If you have questions, please contact me at: studyrec@usc.edu.

Thank you!

Lydia Ignatova studyrec@usc.edu

 

Published on May 28th, 2026Last updated on May 28th, 2026