Anxiety & Depression Association of America

Depressive symptoms are common among Veterans and associated with significant impairment. Timely intervention has the potential to improve mental health outcomes and restore functioning. Interventions delivered through the internet can be completed remotely at any time, and thus minimize burden on Veterans, however the research examining their utility in Veterans is limited. This proposed project will examine Deprexis, a self-guided internet-delivered intervention, which targets depressive symptoms and associated functional impairments. Interviews will be conducted to gain insight into Veterans' perceptions, needs, and preferences vis-a-vis Deprexis, with results informing a randomized controlled trial. Here an 8-week course of Deprexis will be compared to a treatment-as-usual (TAU) control condition to establish if Deprexis is acceptable and effective for Veterans with mild to moderate depressive symptoms. Veterans engaged in Deprexis are hypothesized to show improvements on measures of functioning and decreases in depressive symptoms compared to the TAU control group. The proposed work has great clinical utility, as it could provide a readily accessible, high-quality intervention for the many Veterans suffering from depressive symptoms, with the potential to improve functioning and long-term outcomes.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2024

open study

The R33 will be a randomized controlled trial to replicate changes in the targets (unproductive processing, avoidance, reward deficits) from the R61 phase in a larger sample of 135 participants who have experienced a destabilizing life event involving profound loss or threat, report persistent stressor-related symptoms of PTSD and/or depression, and are elevated on symptoms related to 2 of the 3 therapeutic targets. Additionally, this study will examine Positive Processes and Transition to Health (PATH)'s impact on stressor-related psychopathology in comparison to Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR). In the R33 phase, the investigators will examine changes in target mechanisms predicting improvements in PTSD and depressive symptoms, as well as feasibility and acceptability. Patients will receive 6 sessions of PATH or PMR (with 2 boosters, if partial responders). Primary targets will be assessed at pre-treatment, week 3, post-treatment, and at 1- and 3-month follow-up; secondary targets at pre-treatment, weekly during treatment, post-treatment, and at 1- and 3-month follow-ups.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Sep 2023

open study

Investigators plan to offer two evidence based interventions - Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) (TF-CBT) and Trauma Systems therapy (TST) to traumatized children and their families. The investigators are looking to evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions in the context of additional stress related to racialized trauma and acculturation stress

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jul 2023

open study

In partnership with the Veterans Affairs (VA) Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford University, this study aims to evaluate clinical outcomes, assess implementation feasibility, and health economics of MDMA-assisted Cognitive Processing Therapy (MDMA-aCPT) in the treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Through a randomized comparison of MDMA-aCPT versus Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT), a VA gold standard treatment for PTSD, the proposed study will set the stage for understanding the potential use and application of MDMA-aCPT for PTSD within the VA system.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2025

open study

This protocol will test the effectiveness of an intervention, iCHART (integrated Care to Help At-Risk Teens) and facilitate recruitment for other studies in the larger ETUDES Center grant, which are focused on treatment development for target risk factors for suicidal behavior, specifically, sleep, anhedonia, and stress related to cybervictimization. This study will recruit 900 adolescents which will be enrolled in a randomized controlled trial to test iCHART and will be randomized to iCHART or treatment as usual (TAU). Based on previous work, the investigators hypothesize that iCHART, compared to TAU, will decrease suicidal-related events by 50%, and the effects will be mediated by increases in referrals, treatment engagement, and safety planning. The investigators will use implementation science methods to assess contextual factors (i.e., barriers and facilitators) and implementation outcomes specifically, acceptability, feasibility, appropriateness, and cost for our predictive algorithm and iCHART to inform future implementation efforts and promote health equity.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2023

open study

Investigators primary aim is to carry out a two-site, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled, phase II trial to systematically examine the potential for aerobic exercise (AEx) to enhance the anti-depressant benefits of rTMS in individuals with post-stroke depression (PSD). Investigators propose to determine the efficacy of combining two known anti-depressant treatments shown to be effective in non-stroke depression, aerobic exercise (AEx) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), on post-stroke depressive symptoms. This project is based on the idea that depression negatively affects the potential for the brain to adapt in response to treatment such that rehabilitation may not produce the same changes that it does in non-depressed individuals. Investigators believe that effective treatment for PSD will result in a virtuous cycle whereby reducing depression enhances response to rehabilitation, thereby facilitating functional gains. That is, effectively treating depression will enable individuals to better recover from stroke.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2024

open study

The study is to evaluate the feasibility of using a non-invasive brain stimulation device in a sample of inpatients with eating disorders (ED). The study will help researchers evaluate whether their device protocol is practical for eating disorder inpatients as a way to manage eating disorder and anxiety symptoms. A secondary aim of the study is to evaluate preliminary effectiveness of the protocol for reducing pre-meal anxiety during the treatment, and explore effects on eating disorder symptoms over the course of the inpatient admission.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2025

open study

This study seeks to understand emotion regulation in those with young adults with anxiety using real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging neurofeedback, a tool that allows individuals to control brain activity. The goal of this project is to understand how receiving feedback about one's own brain activity relates to emotion regulation ability. This work will help the study team understand the brain areas involved in emotion regulation and could lay the groundwork to test if psychotherapy outcomes can be enhanced using neurofeedback. The study hypotheses include: - Participants receiving veritable-Neurofeedback (NF) will show a greater activation increases in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) compared to sham-NF - Participants receiving veritable-NF will show greater cognitive reappraisal (CR) ability compared to those receiving sham-NF - PFC activation will positively correlate with CR ability

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2025

open study

The U.S. Deaf community - a group of more than one million Americans who communicate using American Sign Language (ASL) - experiences nearly triple the rate of lifetime problem drinking and twice the rate of trauma exposure compared to the general population. Although there are several treatments for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in hearing populations, none have been developed for or tested with Deaf clients. To address these barriers, the study team developed Signs of Safety, a Deaf-accessible therapy toolkit for treating AUD and PTSD. Their aims are to conduct a nationwide, virtual clinical trial to compare (1) Signs of Safety with (2) treatment as usual and (3) a no treatment control, to collect data on clinical outcomes, and to explore potential mediators and moderators of outcome.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2024

open study

This project is designed to examine the role of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) in anhedonia and anxiety in humans with depression, as well as the acute and sustained effects of ketamine on agACC activation and depression symptoms.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2024

open study

Detailed Description The doula-led intervention developed during the first phase of this project will be pilot tested for feasibility. Following the recruitment procedures described in the recruitment and retention plan, approximately 75 participants will be enrolled into the study. Twenty-five of the participants will receive regular doula care and 25 of the participants will receive care from a doula trained in the PMAD doula training throughout their pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum time period, following the intervention procedures developed in Aim 2 of this study. Twenty-five women will not receive care from a doula and will receive perinatal care as usual. Women in all groups will take surveys via REDCap during their enrollment in the intervention, at 1 month postpartum, 3 months, and 6 months postpartum (at the conclusion of the intervention). All participants who receive the PMAD doula intervention will complete checklists after each session with their doula, to assess fidelity to the intervention. Participant communication with their doula via patient notebook will also be assessed for fidelity to the intervention.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2024

open study

We are studying a treatment for depression called accelerated Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) among pregnant and postpartum individuals. TMS is a focal, non-invasive form of brain stimulation that is cleared by the Food and Drug Administration for depression. Typically, traditional TMS involves daily treatments for 6-8 weeks. In this study, we will offer an accelerated form of TMS that involves multiple daily treatments for 5 days.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Aug 2025

open study

The lack of postpartum primary care coordination is a missed opportunity to increase primary care engagement and manage chronic conditions early in life, especially for the >30% of pregnant people who have or are at risk for these conditions. This study aims to increase postpartum primary care engagement, quality, and experience by strengthening postpartum transitions to primary care using a behavioral economics-informed, multi-component intervention integrated into usual inpatient postpartum care. Using a randomized controlled trial and repeated outcome assessments through administrative and survey data, this study will generate rigorous, actionable evidence to ensure primary care coordination becomes standard postpartum care practice, potentially catalyzing sustained primary care engagement throughout life.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2025

open study

This study is a mechanistic randomized controlled trial that investigates whether inhibition of tumor necrosis factor signaling via intravenous infusion of infliximab improves psychomotor speed and executive functioning in depressed individuals who exhibit an inflammatory phenotype.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2025

open study

The overarching purpose of this study is to determine if a modified 8-week mindfulness-based intervention (with a focus on self-compassion; MBSC) or 8 weeks of 2000 IU vitamin D supplementation will reduce stress and increase self-compassion in mothers of preterm infants and beneficially modify the human milk produced, and subsequently improve infant health.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2021

open study

This neuroimaging study is a clinical trial investigating the effectiveness of intermittent theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (iTBS-TMS) to the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) in reducing suicide risk in patients with major depressive episode (MDE) or borderline personality disorder (BPD).

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2023

open study

The goal of this clinical trial is to the efficacy of the Building a Strong Identity and Coping Skills intervention within a sample of low-income and minoritized youth aged 11-14 who are seeking mental health treatment and have been placed on a waitlist to receive services. The aims of this study are to: (1) confirm the efficacy of BaSICS by replicating previous findings, (2) Examine the changes of coping mechanisms and symptom change over the course of the BaSICS intervention, and (3) test models of physiologic stress reactivity and regulation to capture biological "risk" and recalibration. Cohorts of 20 participants will randomly be enrolled in either the intervention (10) or control (10) groups. Participants enrolled in the intervention group will complete the BaSICS program and participants enrolled in the no intervention group will not be enrolled in the intervention program. The BaSICS program is designed to help treat anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress symptoms and disorders and have direct effects on physiologic stress response systems (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis). Researchers will compare the intervention and no intervention groups to see if there is a difference in the reduction of markers for anxiety, depression, and suicide scores, changes in coping mechanism, and HPA reactivity profiles

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2025

open study

The primary aim of this project is to test the efficacy of a technology-supported lifestyle physical activity (LPA) intervention for preventing relapse among women with depression engaged in alcohol treatment. Participants are randomized to either 1) LPA+Fitbit intervention or 2) Fitbit Only control condition. Follow-up assessments and EMA data will be collected.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: May 2021

open study

Teachers are at notable risk for depression and anxiety. The present study tests an app-based mindfulness intervention for teachers in their final year of training with the goal of preventing the deterioration of their mental health during the transition into the classroom. The project will strengthen the research environment at the University of Alabama and will involve undergraduate research assistants in each step of the research process.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2025

open study

The goal of this clinical trial is to test whether light therapy is effective for reducing symptoms in young adults with OCD and late bedtimes (1am or later). The main question[s] it aims to answer are: Does light therapy reduce OCD symptoms? Does light therapy advance the circadian clock? If there is a comparison group: Researchers will compare a higher dose of light therapy to a lower dose to see if dose amount affects symptom reduction. Participants will asked to: 1. Wear light therapy glasses for 1 hour each morning and complete a daily light therapy log for 5 weeks 2. Track their sleep every day with a wearable monitor and an electronic sleep diary for 5 weeks 3. Complete a 1-time assessment of sensitivity to light exposure 4. Complete self-report measures of OCD 4 times/day at baseline (2 weeks), mid-treatment (1 week), and end of treatment (1 week)

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Dec 2024

open study

The Reach Out, Stand Strong, Essentials for New Mothers (ROSE) program is an evidence-based intervention that prevents half of cases of postpartum depression and was one of two interventions recommended by the US Preventive Services Task Force in 2019. All effectiveness trials of ROSE and of the other recommended PPD prevention intervention included only low-income women a single risk factor that doubles incidence of PPD. Thus, the existing evidence base for PPD prevention consists primarily of women at increased risk for PPD. Based on data from the PIs' current implementation study of ROSE, many healthcare and community agencies in this implementation trial (78%) find it is more feasible for them to provide or offer ROSE to every woman as part of their standard workflow, than it is to create a screening and referral process for at risk women. In addition to being more feasible for agencies, universal prevention may also be advantageous because the cost of a screening false negative (resulting in a preventable case of PPD; $32,000) far exceeds the cost of ROSE delivery ($50-$300/woman). Effectiveness of ROSE among low-income women at risk for PPD is known (ROSE prevents ~50% of PPD cases). To inform a recommendation about using ROSE as universal vs. selective or indicated prevention, we need to determine the effectiveness of ROSE among general populations of women, including women screening negative for PPD risk. Thus, this project will assess ROSE effectiveness across PPD risk levels and across prevention approaches in a sample of 2,320 women from a large regional health system (based in Detroit, MI). Each proposed aim gathers a piece of information missing that is needed to guide decision-making about ROSE as universal prevention. We will assess ROSE as universal, selective, and indicated prevention in terms of: (1) ROSE effectiveness relative to a control for each prevention approach in preventing PPD and improving functioning; (2) cost outcome, (3) equity and (4) scalability of each prevention approach; and (5) mechanisms of ROSE effects across PPD risk levels. We will integrate results to advise about ROSE as universal prevention. This definitive PPD prevention trial will show how best to get an evidence-based program to those who need it in settings where they receive perinatal care by addressing a pragmatic and novel question (should ROSE be universal prevention?) and by examining equity and cost-outcome of universal vs. other prevention approaches.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jun 2023

open study

This study examines the association of variability in glucose values over a 10-day period with cognitive function and functional status among individuals with prediabetes, aged 50 or older.

Type: Observational

Start Date: Mar 2022

open study

Develop a NIRSIT testing protocol that can be administered in the diagnostic setting and reliably distinguishes the symptoms and severity of depression, with the help of repeated measure (up to five visits per subject) comparison of patients being treated for Major Depressive Disorder with control, non-depressed subjects.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Jan 2019

open study

This project will examine changes in depression and anxiety following a 10-week intervention promoting nature-based physical activity in mental health settings. We will recruit ten licensed therapists whose caseload includes adults with depression and anxiety. Following a training by our team, each participating therapist will recruit six clients, who will be randomly assigned to the intervention or control condition. Clients in the intervention condition will engage in walk-and-talk therapy outdoors during weekly sessions and discuss strategies for being active outdoors on their own. We will assess changes in depression, anxiety, and nature-based physical activity in both groups.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Feb 2025

open study

The goal of this study is to examine attentional biases for facial displays of emotion as a mechanism of risk in infants of mothers with postpartum major depression, and the potential role of infant arousal in the development of these attentional biases.

Type: Interventional

Start Date: Nov 2024

open study