NLP-based weekly writings to track mood and worry during residential rehab for SUD

Is this trial a fit for you?

A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.

What this trial studies

Adults in a residential treatment center for severe substance use disorders in Mexico provide weekly written narratives about their feelings and experiences and complete standardized questionnaires every two weeks. Researchers use natural language processing and machine learning to extract emotional, cognitive, and behavioral features from the narratives and combine them with psychometric scores to create a dynamic risk profile. The goal is to identify early signs of psychological worsening or improvement to support clinical decision-making during residential care. The study is observational and focuses on how narrative and questionnaire data relate to changes in mental health over time. Analysis will emphasize ACT-based constructs, sentiment, emotion, and semantic similarity within weekly texts.

Why it matters

Who can join: the full rules

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Clinical diagnosis of severe substance use disorder (polydrug use, including cocaine, methamphetamines, alcohol, and/or cannabis), confirmed by the center's admission assessment.
2. Male sex (all participants in the center's residential program are male).
3. Age 18 years or older.
4. Current resident of the participating residential rehabilitation center in Mexico.
5. Completed at least four weeks of residential treatment at the time of study enrollment.
6. Able to write coherent weekly narratives in Spanish (no severe cognitive impairment or active psychosis).
7. Willing to provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Presence of acute psychotic symptoms that interfere with the ability to write or understand the study procedures.
2. Severe cognitive impairment (e.g., due to traumatic brain injury, intellectual disability) that prevents meaningful narrative production.
3. Inability to comply with weekly narrative writing (e.g., illiteracy, severe visual impairment).
4. Planned discharge from the residential program within less than 4 weeks from enrollment.
5. Enrollment in another interventional clinical trial that could confound the interpretation of outcomes.

Where it's running

• Under The Tree Potrerillos
  Potrerillos, Jalisco, Mexico Recruiting

Study contacts

• Principal investigator: Lauro Gutiérrez Castro — Under The Tree
• Study coordinator: Lauro Gutiérrez Castro
• Email: saraqael_sefer@hotmail.com
• Phone: +523314696107

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How to take part

1. Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
2. Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
3. Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.