Major Depressive Disorder
Conditions
Keywords
depression, technology, psychotherapy, behavioral activation
Brief summary
Smartphone applications (apps) may be well-suited as a low cost adjunctive tool for increasing the adherence of individuals to psychotherapy treatments which may subsequently increase symptom reduction and improve clinical outcomes. Apps offer the opportunity for real-time tracking of behavior and have the ability to provide prompt feedback and reminders in a convenient, readily available technology. The immediacy and convenience of apps may be responsible for the observed improvements in adherence on the part of the patients relative to traditional paper-and-pencil tracking and practice of skills taught in psychotherapy. These features are relevant to behavioral activation (BA) protocols, the effects of which are often attenuated by failure to adhere to regular practice and tracking of behavior. The Mood Coach app is a BA protocol developed to provide a convenient means of planning and tracking activity, and monitoring mood responses to scheduled increases in activity. This project evaluates the utility of this app as an adjunct to standard BA treatment. The investigators predict that participants assigned to the BA+app condition will demonstrate greater adherence to the BA treatment compared to the standard BA condition. The investigators also predict that the participants in the BA+app condition will report greater satisfaction with the app compared to the standard BA protocol that utilizes paper and pencil materials.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALStandard behavioral activation
BEHAVIORALBehavioral activation plus mobile app
Sponsors
National Center for PTSD
Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 89 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Veterans aged 18 and older * Speak and understand English * Meet criteria for major depressive disorder * Willing to participate in psychotherapy for depression
Exclusion criteria
* Current psychotic disorder diagnosis * Current bipolar disorder * Diagnosed with a substance use disorder that is not currently being addressed by a non-study provider * Patients receiving a concurrent evidence-based psychotherapy for depression or PTSD
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale-Short Form | Week 1, Week 4, Week 8 | Measures symptoms of depression consistent with a behavioral deficits model in a brief format. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 | Week 1, Week 4, Week 8 | Assesses symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress in a brief format. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Homework Compliance Rating Scale | Week 4, Week 8 | Assesses the amount of effort put into the weekly behavioral activation homework. Completed by the participant and the study clinician. |
| Treatment Evaluation Inventory-Short Form | Week 4, Week 8 | Assesses the degree to which the treatment provided in the project is deemed acceptable by the participant. The measure used in the present project is modified from the original to better assess the treatment procedures in an adult population. |
| Perceptions of Computerized Therapy Questionnaire-Patient Version | Week 1, Week 8 | Measures participants' opinion of computerized and computer-assisted psychotherapy. |
| Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview | Week 1, Week 8 | Clinician-administered brief diagnostic interview for psychiatric diagnoses. The selected sections for this project include the major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, bi-polar disorder, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety, disorder, social anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and substance use disorder sections. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed