Completed

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for the Treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

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What is being tested

Light Therapy

+ Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
Behavioral
Who is being recruted

Seasonal Affective Disorder

+ Depression
Over 18 Years
+4 Eligibility Criteria

See all eligibility criteria

How is the trial designed

Treatment Study

Phase 1
Interventional
Study Start: November 2002

See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorHenry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine
Last updated: June 25, 2014
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner
Study start date: November 1, 2002Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

This study will assess the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD), commonly called the "winter blues." SAD is a condition in which people experience depression as a result of seasonal variations in sunlight. Although light therapy is a common treatment for SAD, a large proportion of people with SAD are resistant to this treatment. CBT is effective for nonseasonal depressive disorders, but its use for SAD has not been thoroughly explored. This study will determine whether CBT, alone and combined with light therapy, is as effective as light therapy alone in reducing SAD symptoms. Participants in this study will be randomly assigned to light therapy, CBT, a combination of light therapy and CBT, or a control group (no therapy) for 6 weeks. CBT will be conducted twice a week; light therapy will be conducted twice a day. Assessments will be made before, during, and after the study treatment. Depression scales, questionnaires, and behavioral tasks will be used to assess the depressive symptoms of participants. A 6-month and 1-year follow-up visit will also be conducted. During the follow-up visits, participants will be interviewed and will complete a questionnaire and a survey.

Official TitleCognitive Behavioral Approaches to Seasonal Depression 
Principal SponsorHenry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine
Last updated: June 25, 2014
Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.
Design Details
61 patients to be enrolledTotal number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.
Treatment Study
These studies test new ways to treat a disease, condition, or health issue. The goal is to see if a new drug, therapy, or approach works better or has fewer side effects than existing options.

How participants are assigned to different groups/arms
In this clinical study, participants are placed into groups randomly, like flipping a coin. This ensures that the study is fair and unbiased, making the results more reliable. By assigning participants by chance, researchers can better compare treatments without external influences.

Other Ways to Assign Participants
Non-randomized allocation: Participants are assigned based on specific factors, such as their medical condition or a doctor's decision.
None (Single-arm trial): If the study has only one group, all participants receive the same treatment, and no allocation is needed.

How treatments are given to participants
Participants are divided into different groups, each receiving a specific treatment at the same time. This helps researchers compare how well different treatments work against each other.

Other Ways to Assign Treatments
Single-group assignment: Everyone gets the same treatment.
Cross-over assignment: Participants switch between treatments during the study.
Factorial assignment: Participants receive different combinations of treatments.
Sequential assignment: Participants receive treatments one after another in a specific order, possibly based on individual responses.
Other assignment: Treatment assignment does not follow a standard or predefined design.

How the effectiveness of the treatment is controlled
In a non placebo-controlled study, no participants receive an inert substance (placebo) to compare outcomes. Instead, all participants receive either the experimental treatment or an alternative treatment (often the Standard of Care). This method allows researchers to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of a different active intervention, rather than a placebo.

Other Options
Placebo-Controlled: A placebo is used to compare the effects of the experimental treatment with those of an inert substance, isolating the true treatment effect.

How the interventions assigned to participants is kept confidential
Participants do not know which treatment they are receiving, but researchers do. This helps prevent bias from participants' expectations while still allowing researchers to monitor the study closely.

Other Ways to Mask Information
Open-label: Everyone knows which treatment is being given.
Double-blind: Neither participants nor researchers know which treatment is given.
Triple-blind: Participants, researchers, and outcome assessors do not know which treatment is given.
Quadruple-blind: Participants, researchers, outcome assessors, and care providers all do not know which treatment is given.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.
Conditions
Criteria
Any sexBiological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.
Over 18 YearsRange of ages for which participants are eligible to join.
Healthy volunteers not allowedIf individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.
Conditions
Pathology
Seasonal Affective Disorder
Depression
Criteria
2 inclusion criteria required to participate
Diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
Willing and able to participate in the study procedures
2 exclusion criteria prevent from participating
Major psychological diagnoses other than SAD
Current psychological or psychiatric treatment

Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.
Treatment Groups
Study Objectives
4 intervention groups 

are designated in this study

This study does not include a placebo group 

Treatment Groups
Group I
Experimental
Group II
Experimental
Group III
Experimental
Group IV
No Intervention
Study Objectives
Primary Objectives

The Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version (SIGH-SAD) measures depressive symptoms on a continuous scale. Higher scores indicate worse outcome. Range of scores is 0 to 73. Generally, a score of 20 or higher is the cutoff for clinical depression.

Dichotomous Remission Status (remitted or not) at post-treatment

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.
This study has 1 location
Suspended
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)Bethesda, United StatesSee the location
CompletedOne Study Center