QUEST (Quantifying Everyday Situations in Tourette) is a treatment study for people aged 12-17 years who experience tics. All participants receive 8 sessions of Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) from a trained therapist. CBIT is a standard therapy for Tourette that can help people learn skills to manage their tics. Participants will also wear a study-provided smartwatch and answer daily surveys.

The QUEST Study is an in-person study at University of Minnesota Twin Cities. For more information, please complete our study interest form.

What is the goal of this study?

The goal of the QUEST Study is to learn more about how tics change before, during, and after Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) therapy. We hope this study will help us better understand how tics change over time and how CBIT works by measuring daily changes in mood, emotions, sleep habits and tic symptoms.

Who can participate? 

Your child may be eligible to participate if your child:

• Is 12-17 years old
• Has tics

What does the QUEST study involve?

Participants in the QUEST Study will complete clinical assessments and survey questions and will receive 8 weekly sessions of CBIT. They will also wear a smartwatch and answer 3-4 short surveys per day for about 4.5 months while being in the study.  The short surveys ask about questions related to daily mood/emotions, environment, and recent tics. Each survey takes about one minute to complete. Participants will be provided with a smartwatch for the duration of the study and will be compensated for each study activity they do. A summary of the study visits and timeline is listed below. 

• Baseline Visit (2-3 hr in-person visit, will receive fitbit and set up text notifications during this visit)
  • After this visit participants spend 4 weeks wearing fitbit and answering 4 daily surveys (each survey takes about a minute or less). Participants have a brief weekly check-in call to see how wearing the device and answering the surveys is going.
• Pre-Treatment Visits
  • Pre-assessment (~1-2 hour Zoom call)
• Treatment Visits
  • 8 weekly in-person CBIT sessions (1.25 hours)
    • Participants continue to wear fitbit and answer 4 daily surveys during this time
• Post-Treatment Visit
  • Post-assessment (~1 hour Zoom call)
    • Participants continue to wear fitbit and answer 4 daily surveys during this time
• Follow-Up Visits
  • 1-month in-person follow-up visit
    • Will stop wearing fitbit and answering survey questions after this visit is complete