Mechanisms of Change of Positive Interventions in Reducing Vulnerability for Depression
Understanding Mechanisms of Prevention of Depression: a Mechanistic Cross-over Trial of Mindfulness vs. Fantasizing to Reduce Perseverative Cognition Underlying Vulnerability for Depression
University Medical Center Groningen
100 participants
Jun 19, 2020
INTERVENTIONAL
Conditions
Summary
The purpose of this study is to understand the effects of mindfulness and fantasizing in reducing perseverative cognition underlying vulnerability for depression.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria6
- In order to be eligible to participate in this study, all participants must meet all the following criteria:
- Participants should be between 18 and 60 years old. Participants should not exceed 60 years of age in order to minimize aging-related decline in information processing;
- Participants should display normal intelligence (IQ>85, as assessed with the Dutch Adult Reading Test and/or having finished an education on at least vocational level) in order to assure sufficient task comprehension.
- Participants in the remitted Major Depressive Disorder group should meet the following criteria to make sure that participants are at high risk of depressive relapse and currently show no clinically relevant severity of depressive symptoms:
- Remitted participants should have experienced at least two depressive episodes, according to criteria defined by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, version 5 (DSM-5), experienced in past ten years;
- Remitted participants should score 21 or lower on the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS-SR30), indicative of the absence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms.
Exclusion Criteria8
- Furthermore, individuals who meet any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:
- Fulfilling criteria for any current DSM-5 diagnosis as objectified with the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 (SCID-5);
- Daily use of anti-depressive medication, benzodiazepines, methylphenidate, beta blockers or other medication potentially influencing electrocardiogram currently or in the last four weeks;
- Recent engagement (defined as in their last episode, or as one year prior to inclusion in case the last episode was more than a year before inclusion) in preventive cognitive therapy including the positive fantasizing technique and/or have recent experiences (defined as daily practice in the past two years for at least two weeks) with mindfulness, meditation, or mindful yoga. This criterion prevents underestimation of true effects of mindfulness and/or positive fantasizing and maximizes treatment effects;
- Participation in another clinical intervention study at the moment of inclusion in the study to prevent overlapping intervention effects.
- Individuals for the Never-Depressed control group who additionally meet any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation of this study:
- Presence of symptoms of depression according to the IDS-SR30 (score > 13), to make sure participants are not currently experiencing clinically relevant depressive symptoms;
- Any life-time psychopathology of any disorder as objectified with the SCID-5.
Interested in this trial?
Get notified about updates and connect with the research team.
Interventions
Participants receive a two-hour professional training to get familiar with the basic techniques of mindfulness. The training is given by a mindfulness professional and consists of psycho-education, instructions for mindfulness and guided practice. It focuses mainly on attending to stimuli such as breathing, external sounds or bodily sensations and becoming aware of where one's attention is. After the professional training, participants receive instructions about the audio application with which participants continue performing short exercises using the learned technique every day guided by an application on their smartphone customized for this research. Specifically, participants perform one short exercise (10 min) per day for in total six days. The exercises that are being performed are: attention to breathing part 1, attention to breathing part 2, attention to sounds, attention to bodily sensations, attention to thoughts, attention to emotions and feelings.
In a two-hour training session by a professional trainer, participants get familiar with the positive fantasizing technique. Participants receive psycho-education about the role of dysfunctional beliefs. The positive fantasizing technique starts with identifying dysfunctional "beliefs and schema" and subsequently fantasize about a positive "fantasy belief". Participants are guided by the professional using imagery and experiencing thoughts and feelings that would be elicited when using their fantasy belief as if in an ideal world. After using imagery techniques, participants are asked, with help of the professional, to reflect on their experience during the fantasizing exercise and to think of how they could implement this fantasy belief more in their daily life, by adapting their fantasy belief into a more practical belief. After the training, participants are asked to perform one exercise per day using the fantasizing technique using a mobile application for six days in total.
Locations(1)
View Full Details on ClinicalTrials.gov
For the most up-to-date information, visit the official listing.
NCT06145984