DepressionNCT02572921
Comparison of Positive Psychotherapy and Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy for Depression
A study testing Positive Psychotherapy and Cognitive behavioral therapy in people with Depression, run by University of Salzburg at 2 sites in Austria.
Trial summary
This study evaluates the effects of the Positive Psychotherapy on depressive symptoms and on happiness compared with regular cognitive behavioral therapy. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 60 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Depression
- What is being tested?
- Positive Psychotherapy and Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 60 participants
- Where
- 2 sitesAustria
- Study dates
- May 2014to Jul 2016
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 60 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult
Who may be able to join
- Clinical diagnosis of Depression (Major depressive disorder, recurrent: mild to moderate; Major depressive disorder, single episode: mild to moderate; Dysthymic disorder)
- Patients should be between age 18 and 60
Who cannot join
- Any current treatment for depression
- Substance related or alcohol related disorder (within the last 12 months)
- Panic disorder
- Manic or hypomanic disorder
- Psychotic disorder * refusal to participate in a 14 weeks psychotherapy treatment
Trial locations and contacts
2 sites in 1 country.
Austria2 sites
Wagner-Jauregg- Hospital
Linz, Upper Austria, 4020
Beratungsstelle für Klinische Psychologie, Psychotherapie und Gesundheitspsychologie
Salzburg, State of Salzburg, 5020
About this study
Official title: Evaluation of the Positive Psychotherapy to Reduce Symptoms and to Promote Happiness With Depressive Patients Compared to Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy
This study evaluates the effects of the Positive Psychotherapy on depressive symptoms and on happiness compared with regular cognitive behavioral therapy.
Read the detailed description
Positive Psychotherapy (PPT) focuses on increasing well-being and positive emotions rather than ameliorating deficits in contrast to standard psychotherapy.
A lack of positive emotions, engagement and felt meaning are typically viewed as consequences or mere correlates of depression, while the PPT suggests that these may be causal for depression. Therefore building positive emotion, engagement and meaning will alleviate depression.
Thus PPT may offer a new way to treat and prevent depression.
The aim of this study is to compare the effects of the Positive Psychotherapy on depressive symptoms, life satisfaction and happiness in comparison to standard cognitive behavior psychotherapy (regular cognitive behavioral therapy).
60 mildly to moderately depressed patients are randomly assigned to the Positive Psychotherapy group or the regular cognitive behavioral therapy group.
Both treatments (primary intervention group and control group) are conducted in an outpatient group therapy setting with 14 sessions and a duration of 2-hours-per-week in small groups of 6 or 7 patients.
- Conditions
- Depression
- Being tested
- Positive Psychotherapy, Cognitive behavioral therapy
- Keywords
- Positive Psychotherapy, Depression, Happiness
- Medical subject headings
- Depression
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Positive PsychotherapyBehavioural
The Positive Psychotherapy Group Treatment was developed by Martin Seligman and Tayyab Rashid (2013) and consists of 14 weekly group sessions of 2 hours. The strictly manualized program includes the following components:
positive orientation and introduction, character strengths, signature strengths, good vs. bad memories, forgiveness, gratitude, satisficing vs. maximising, meaningful life, posttraumatic growth, hope and optimism, positive communication, signature strengths of others, savouring and slowness, altruism and the last session is about the integration of all these components to the "full life".
Cognitive behavioral therapyBehavioural
This well-established, cognitive-behavior group therapy was developed by Schaub, Roth and Goldmann (2006) and consists of 12 weekly group sessions of 2 hours. The strictly manualized program includes the following components: education, building up activities, cognitive restructuring, relapse prevention. Moreover, there are 2 sessions added to the standard program: one session concerning savouring and the other one concerning stress reduction. Thus the whole program consists of 14 sessions.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Positive Psychotherapy | Experimental | Experimental Group (Positive Psychotherapy) Receives: Behavioral: Positive Psychotherapy |
| Cognitive Behavioral Therapy | Active comparator | Active Control Group (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) Receives: Behavioral: Cognitive behavioral therapy |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Depressive symptoms (measured by a self-report questionnaire)
The depressive symptoms will be assessed by a self - report questionnaire: the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) which consists of 21 items
Measured: fourteen weeks
Depressive symptoms (measured by an assessment by others)
The depressive symptoms will also be measured by an assessment by others: the Montgomery Asberg Depression Scale (MADS) which consists of 10 items
Measured: fourteen weeks
Happiness (measured by a self-report-questionnaire)
Happiness will be assessed by a self-report-scale:
the Flourishing-Scale (FS) which consists of 8 items
Measured: fourteen weeks
Happiness (measured by a self-report questionnaire)
Happiness will be assessed by an additional self-report-questionnaire which consists of 25 items: the Positive Psychotherapy Inventory (PPTI)
Measured: fourteen weeks
Life satisfaction (measured by a self-report questionnaire)
Life-Satisfaction will be measured by a self-report-questionnaire consisting of 5 items: the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)
Measured: fourteen weeks
Secondary outcomes (2)
Clinical Symptoms
Apart from depression also other clinical symptoms will be assessed by a self-report-scale with 53 items: the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)
Measured: fourteen weeks
Life events
Also life events will be assessed which happened during the last 6 months before starting the treatment and during the treatment
Measured: six months
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted9 Oct 2015 (estimated)
- Study startMay 2014
- Primary completionMay 2016 (estimated)
- Study completionJul 2016 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for DepressionStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Salzburg
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- The Wagner-Jauregg Provincial Neuropsychiatric Clinic
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Mag. Linda Maria Furchtlehner, University of Salzburg
- Investigators
- Anton-Rupert Laireiter, Univ.-Prof.Dr., Study chair, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02572921
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- USalzburg
- Status last verified
- Oct 2015
- First submitted
- 15 Sep 2015
- Last updated
- 9 Oct 2015
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- Yes
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 9 Oct 2015. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Evaluation of the Positive Psychotherapy to Reduce Symptoms and to Promote Happiness With Depressive Patients Compared to Cognitive-Behavioral Psychotherapy
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02572921
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- USalzburg
- Conditions
- Depression
- Keywords
- Positive Psychotherapy, Depression, Happiness
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Unknown status
- Enrolment
- 60 participants (estimated)
- Lead sponsor
- University of SalzburgUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- The Wagner-Jauregg Provincial Neuropsychiatric Clinic
- Study start
- May 2014
- Primary completion
- May 2016 (estimated)
- Study completion
- Jul 2016 (estimated)
- First posted
- 9 Oct 2015 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This study evaluates the effects of the Positive Psychotherapy on depressive symptoms and on happiness compared with regular cognitive behavioral therapy.
Detailed description
Positive Psychotherapy (PPT) focuses on increasing well-being and positive emotions rather than ameliorating deficits in contrast to standard psychotherapy.
A lack of positive emotions, engagement and felt meaning are typically viewed as consequences or mere correlates of depression, while the PPT suggests that these may be causal for depression. Therefore building positive emotion, engagement and meaning will alleviate depression.
Thus PPT may offer a new way to treat and prevent depression.
The aim of this study is to compare the effects of the Positive Psychotherapy on depressive symptoms, life satisfaction and happiness in comparison to standard cognitive behavior psychotherapy (regular cognitive behavioral therapy).
60 mildly to moderately depressed patients are randomly assigned to the Positive Psychotherapy group or the regular cognitive behavioral therapy group.
Both treatments (primary intervention group and control group) are conducted in an outpatient group therapy setting with 14 sessions and a duration of 2-hours-per-week in small groups of 6 or 7 patients.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Factorial
- Masking
- None (open label)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Positive Psychotherapy | Experimental | Behavioral: Positive PsychotherapyExperimental Group (Positive Psychotherapy) |
| Cognitive Behavioral Therapy | Active comparator | Behavioral: Cognitive behavioral therapyActive Control Group (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 60 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult
Key inclusion criteria (2 listed)
- Clinical diagnosis of Depression (Major depressive disorder, recurrent: mild to moderate; Major depressive disorder, single episode: mild to moderate; Dysthymic disorder)
- Patients should be between age 18 and 60
Key exclusion criteria (5 listed)
- Any current treatment for depression
- Substance related or alcohol related disorder (within the last 12 months)
- Panic disorder
- Manic or hypomanic disorder
- Psychotic disorder * refusal to participate in a 14 weeks psychotherapy treatment
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Positive PsychotherapyThe Positive Psychotherapy Group Treatment was developed by Martin Seligman and Tayyab Rashid (2013) and consists of 14 weekly group sessions of 2 hours. The strictly manualized program includes the following components: positive orientation and introduction, character strengths, signature strengths, good vs. bad memories, forgiveness, gratitude, satisficing vs. maximising, meaningful life, posttraumatic growth, hope and optimism, positive communication, signature strengths of others, savouring and slowness, altruism and the last session is about the integration of all these components to the "full life". | Behavioural | Positive Psychotherapy |
| Cognitive behavioral therapyThis well-established, cognitive-behavior group therapy was developed by Schaub, Roth and Goldmann (2006) and consists of 12 weekly group sessions of 2 hours. The strictly manualized program includes the following components: education, building up activities, cognitive restructuring, relapse prevention. Moreover, there are 2 sessions added to the standard program: one session concerning savouring and the other one concerning stress reduction. Thus the whole program consists of 14 sessions. | Behavioural | Cognitive Behavioral Therapy |
Primary outcome
Depressive symptoms (measured by a self-report questionnaire)
Time frame: fourteen weeks
The depressive symptoms will be assessed by a self - report questionnaire: the Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) which consists of 21 items
Depressive symptoms (measured by an assessment by others)
Time frame: fourteen weeks
The depressive symptoms will also be measured by an assessment by others: the Montgomery Asberg Depression Scale (MADS) which consists of 10 items
Happiness (measured by a self-report-questionnaire)
Time frame: fourteen weeks
Happiness will be assessed by a self-report-scale: the Flourishing-Scale (FS) which consists of 8 items
Happiness (measured by a self-report questionnaire)
Time frame: fourteen weeks
Happiness will be assessed by an additional self-report-questionnaire which consists of 25 items: the Positive Psychotherapy Inventory (PPTI)
Life satisfaction (measured by a self-report questionnaire)
Time frame: fourteen weeks
Life-Satisfaction will be measured by a self-report-questionnaire consisting of 5 items: the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS)
2 secondary outcomes
Clinical Symptoms
Time frame: fourteen weeks
Life events
Time frame: six months
Results and safety
Results are not available in the source record.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 9 Oct 2015.
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Anton-Rupert Laireiter, Univ.-Prof.Dr. study chair
Paris Lodron University of Salzburg
2 sites in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Positive Psychotherapy and Cognitive behavioral therapy in people with Depression, run by University of Salzburg at 2 sites in Austria.
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 2 inclusion and 5 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: status not confirmed, as of the sponsor's last update on 9 Oct 2015. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 2 sites in Austria. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
Results are not available in the source record.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
Depressive symptoms (measured by a self-report questionnaire) (time frame: fourteen weeks). The study lists 5 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 9 Oct 2015.