Telehealth CBT for Adolescents and Young Adults With Childhood-onset Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

This project is investigating whether a remotely delivered psychological intervention is acceptable and beneficial to teens and young adults coping with cSLE. This study uses a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention called the Treatment and Education Approach for Childhood-onset Lupus (TEACH) to address symptoms of fatigue, depression, and pain that commonly occur in individuals with cSLE. The TEACH program includes six-weekly, one hour sessions, conducted over HIPAA-compliant video conferencing. Participation in this study will take approximately 8-15 weeks, with a follow-up survey occurring 3-months after post-assessment, and a long-term follow-up survey occurring between 12-27 months after post-assessment. After qualifying for the study, participants will be randomly selected, like flipping a coin, to the TEACH program plus medical treatment as usual (TAU) OR medical TAU alone for six weeks. After this six-week time period, a post-assessment will be completed. Participants that only continued medical TAU will then be eligible to receive TEACH after completing the post-assessment. If these participants choose to undergo the TEACH treatment, they will be asked to complete a short interview about the program and answer questions about how their mood, pain, and fatigue.