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Practicing Alternative Techniques to Heal From Depression: The PATH-D Study

Applying Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy to Treatment Resistant Depression

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00871299
Acronym
PATH-D
Enrollment
173
Registered
2009-03-30
Start date
2009-09-30
Completion date
2014-06-30
Last updated
2014-12-02

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Major Depressive Disorder

Keywords

Treatment-resistant depression, meditation, mindfulness

Brief summary

This study is a randomized, controlled trial of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) versus Health-Enhancement Program (HEP) for patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). Both arms of the study will continue to receive the standard medication management treatment as usual (TAU) throughout the study. MBCT is a new technique that has been found to be effective for prevention of relapse in individuals in complete recovery from depression. MBCT is a group-based, 8-week intervention that uses mindfulness meditation as its core therapeutic ingredient. It teaches people to have a different relationship to depressive thoughts and feelings. This study will use an active condition called the Health Enhancement Program (HEP) which was specifically developed to serve as a comparison condition for mindfulness interventions. HEP has been shown to decrease global stress levels and to increase perceived health. Stress has been considered a contributor to depression. One hundred and seventy four patients with MDD who have failed two or more adequate antidepressant trials will be identified and randomly assigned to one of two groups: MBCT+TAU or HEP+TAU. All patients who enroll in the study will undergo follow-up assessments at 3, 6, 9 and 12 months following the intervention. A supplemental portion of the study will enroll 88 patients to undergo functional magnetic resonance imagining (fMRI) scans immediately before and after treatment to better understand the neural pathways implicated in depression and those that may be affected through treatment.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALMindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a group treatment that integrates mindfulness meditation training with some CBT concepts and was specifically developed as a relapse prevention intervention for MDD. The program teaches skills that allow patients to disengage from habitual (automatic) dysfunctional cognitive routines, in particular depression-related ruminative thought patterns, as a way to reduce future risk of relapse and recurrence of depression.

BEHAVIORALHealth Enhancement Program and medication management

The Health Enhancement Program (HEP)was developed at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and is modeled after traditional activity and nutrition programs used in weight management- cardiac rehab and diabetes prevention programs. The program is designed to increase overall health and well-being by focusing on four health domains that impact health and are interventions regularly practiced at integrative medicine. These include: (I) Music Therapy (2) Nutrition (3) physical activity including, walking and stretching and (4) Functional movement.

Sponsors

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)
CollaboratorNIH
University of California, San Francisco
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

DSM-IV TR Diagnosis of Major Depression receiving medication management. Adequate trial of 2 or more antidepressants (ATHF) for a minimum of 6 weeks (one of which at UCSF). Hamilton Depression Rating Scale 17 score ≥ 14 Any Ethnicity English Speaking Male or Female No current psychotherapy (i.e. only medication management treatment) or plan to start new psychotherapy during MBCT or HEP

Exclusion criteria

Bipolar Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective Disorder, Antisocial and Borderline Personality Disorders, Current Eating Disorder, Pervasive Development Delay Major Depression with Psychotic Features Active Suicidality (per HAM-D17 \> 1 on item 3) Meditation Practice once or more per week; yoga more than twice per week at study entry Substance Abuse Disorder within 6 months Cognitive Disorder with Mini Mental Status Exam score \< 25 Medical illness rated 4 on Cumulative Illness Rating Scale

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17)Baseline, 4, 8, 24, 36, 52 week

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire-Short Form (QLESQ-SF)Baseline, 8, 24, 36, 52 weeks
Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology(Self-Rated)-16 items(QIDS-SR16)Baseline, weeks 1-8, 24, 36, 52 week
Short Form Health Survey-36Baseline, 8, 24, 36, 52 week
Clinical Global Improvement Scale (CGI)Baseline, 8, 24, 36, 52 weeks
Work and Social Activity Scale (WSAS)Baseline, 8, 24,36,52 weeks

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026