Neuroscience of Psychotherapy for Depression

Purpose

The goal of this study is to learn the extent to which client-therapist brain activity may synchronize during a psychosocial intervention for depression symptoms. The study will compare behavioral activation, a client-centered type of cognitive-behavioral therapy, to psychoeducation which delivers information on strategies to recover from depression symptoms. Participants will answer questions about their mental and physical health, attend one psychosocial intervention session receiving either Behavioral Activation or Psychoeducation with simultaneous brain activity measurement and complete follow up surveys two weeks and one month following the intervention.

Condition

  • Depression

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 18 Years and 30 Years
Eligible Genders
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
No

Inclusion Criteria

for participants/clients: - Between ages 18 and 30 - Full-time student status (undergraduate, graduate, and professional) - Experience mild to moderate depressive symptoms as determined by the Beck Depression Inventory (score: 14-28) - No current suicidal ideation, score of 0 on Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS in past month) - Capacity to understand study procedures (informed consent) - Ability to speak and understand English - Willingness to comply with study procedures Inclusion Criteria for therapists: - Ages 18 or older - Qualification to administer therapy (decided by the Principal Investigator) - Capacity to understand the study procedures (informed consent) - Speak and understand English - Willingness to comply with study procedures

Exclusion Criteria

for participants/clients: - Active, Current Suicidal ideation as determined by the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) in the past month - Past suicidal attempt (lifetime) - Recently initiated psychotherapy (past month) - Elevated psychosis risk based on self-report prodromal questionnaire - brief version (PQ-B) or self-reported diagnosis of psychotic disorder by mental health provider - Positive screen for autism spectrum disorder based on the self-report autism quotient (AQ-10) or self-reported diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder by mental health provider, - Daily intake of benzodiazepine of >20 mg diazepam milligram equivalent - Inability to give informed, voluntary, written consent to participate - Inability to effectively communicate in English as determined by interaction with study personnel - Anything else that in the assessment of the study team is not conducive to the successful completion of the study requirements. There are no exclusion criteria for therapists

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Intervention Model Description
There are two interventions that the participants will randomly be assigned to. Each participant will only complete one of these two interventions during their duration in the study.
Primary Purpose
Treatment
Masking
Single (Participant)
Masking Description
The research assistants and personnel will be aware of the randomized intervention for each participant since this will be stored on an encrypted spreadsheet with a password. The participants will be made aware that they will be randomized to a group, however, they will not know what intervention they have been assigned to.

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Active Comparator
Psychoeducation
Psychoeducation will be used in this study as a control condition. The 60 minute session will be structured to provide general educational information on depression and evidence-based strategies to reduce symptoms. The information will be presented in generic format and will not be tailored to be client-specific.
  • Behavioral: Psychoeducation
    For the psychoeducation session, the focus is for the therapist to engage with the client regarding mental health broadly without a targeted effort to reinforce therapeutic alliance or to offer individualized guidance or techniques. The session will provide educational information on depression, depression symptoms and known causes, and strategies to reduce depression symptoms. The content will be delivered in a fashion to avoid individualization and psychotherapeutic exchange. The elements will focus on components of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), differentiating between thoughts and feelings, common cognitive shortcuts, and the connection between behavior and emotion.
Experimental
Behavioral Activation
Behavioral Activation (BA) is a psychotherapy modality that can be used to treat depression. The 60 minute session of BA is designed to actively engage with the client in creating personalized goals and ways in which maladaptive coping mechanisms maintaining depression can be addressed and replaced with increased exposure to positive reinforcement.
  • Behavioral: Behavioral Activation
    Behavioral Activation (BA) is a psychotherapy treatment modality used for depression and focuses on replacing maladaptive coping mechanism that reinforce depressive symptoms with adaptive coping mechanisms to increase exposure to positive reinforcement. The treatment will consist of the following elements: Introduction to establish concept of positive reinforcement and build rapport, identification of client-centered values, individualized values-based activity planning and scheduling, and developing adaptive coping strategies for the future.

Recruiting Locations

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

Study Contact

Flavio Frohlich
(919) 966-4584
flavio_frohlich@med.unc.edu

Detailed Description

This is a pilot study to investigate the neuroscience of a single-session psychosocial intervention for depression symptoms. Brain activity is measured with EEG in both research participant and therapist. Participants will fill in questionnaires about their depression symptoms and experience during the psychosocial intervention.