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DepressionDMTNCT07293806

Dance-movement Therapy in the Treatment of Adolescent Depression

A study testing Dance movement therapy in people with Depression, run by Helsinki University Central Hospital at 2 sites in Finland.

Recruiting

Looking for participants now. Contact the study team or a site below to ask about taking part.

Sites and contacts
Official record
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Trial summary

The aim of this research is to measure the effectiveness of Dance movement therapy in the treatment of adolescent depression. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 13 to 17 years
Conditions the study is for
Depression
What is being tested?
Dance movement therapy
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
140 participants
Where
2 sitesFinland
Study dates
1 Oct 2022to 30 May 2027
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Not yet: the study is under way

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 13 to 17 years
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Child

Who may be able to join

  • Diagnosis of medium or severe depression; BDI 16 points or more. At least 4/9 symptoms of depression in K-SADS-PL interview

Who cannot join

  • Acute psychosis, psychotic depression, personality disorder, severe anorexia, substance misuse that is on a critical level

Trial locations and contacts

2 sites in 1 country. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.

Riikka Valjakka, MD contact

+358445185156

riikka.valjakka@hus.fi

Elina Santti, PhD contact

+35894711

elina.santti@hus.fi

Finland2 sites, 2 recruiting

  • Helsinki University Hospital

    Helsinki, 00029

    Riikka Valjakka, MD, +358405882670, riikka.valjakka@hus.fi

    Elina Santti, PhD, +35894711, elina.santti@hus.fi

    Recruiting

  • Adolecent mental health services, Helsinki

    Helsinki, 00099

    Riikka Valjakka, MD, +358 40 588 2670, riikka.valjakka@hus.fi

    Sari Korpirinne, MD, sari.korpirinne@hel.fi

    Recruiting

Other trials in Finland

About this study

Official title: Study Protocol for a Randomised Controlled Trial of Dance-movement Therapy for Adolescents With Depression

The aim of this research is to measure the effectiveness of Dance movement therapy in the treatment of adolescent depression.

Read the detailed description

Research will start by recruitment of 140 patients (aged 13-17 years) from youth psychiatric outpatient clinic in Helsinki University Central hospital. They will be randomized to two groups. The intervention group will attend Dance movement therapy (DMT) for 12 weeks and the control group is getting treatment as usual (TAU). The outcome will be measured with self-report questionnaires and interviews measuring symptoms of depression and body image. Outcome measurements will be done before intervention, after intervention and 3 months after intervention has finished. The research will start in September 2022 and continue until the end of 2027. The results will be published in medical scientific journals during the year 2027

.

Conditions
Depression
Being tested
Dance movement therapy
Keywords
adolescents, depression, therapy, dance, movement
Medical subject headings
Depression

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Dance movement therapyOther

    A group therapy model for treatment of depression by dance movement therapist. Study consist of 12 therapy sessions, each session lasting 1hour 15minutes. There will be 6 patients in each group.

Study groups in NCT07293806
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Dance movement therapyExperimentalA group of 5-6 patients is recieving Dance movement group therapy once a week for 12 weeks
Receives: Other: Dance movement therapy
Treatment as usualNo interventionTreatment as usual in youth psychiatric outpatient clinic

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-21)

    The self-report questionnaire to assess depressive symptoms, minimum 0 points, maximum 63 points, more severe depression with higher scores

    Measured: baseline, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months

  2. Young Person's Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (YP-Core)

    The self- report questionnaire to measure depressive and overal symptoms in youth, minimum 0 points, maximum 40 points, or median of scores, higher scores indicating more symptoms

    Measured: baseline, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months

Secondary outcomes (2)

  1. Adolescent Depression Rating Scale (ADRS)

    Clinical interview to measure depressive symptoms in youth, minimum 0 and maximum 60 points, highers scores indicating more severe depression

    Measured: baseline, 12 weeks, 6 months

  2. Body Image assessment

    Self-report questionnaire to assess body image/experience, 11 items with minimum 11 and maxomum 77 points, a qualitative scale

    Measured: baseline, 12 weeks, 6 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted19 Dec 2025
  2. Study start1 Oct 2022
  3. Primary completion30 Sep 2026 (estimated)
  4. Study completion30 May 2027 (estimated)

Resources

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
Parallel groups
Model description
Dance movement therapy group intervention (DMT) is compared with treatment as usual (TAU)
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
140 participants (estimated)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT07293806
Sponsor's protocol ID
HUS/391/2021
Acronym
DMT
Status last verified
Dec 2025
First submitted
29 Aug 2022
Last updated
26 Dec 2025
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
Individual data sharing
No: Individual deidentified participant data will not be shared due to legal and ethical restrictions and institute policy; other documents will be available (e.g., study protocol, statistical analysis plan, etc.); data (means, distributions etc.) for meta-analyses and like will be provided, data will be available earliest 2027 and according to study's institutional permissions; for researchers in esteemed institutes, with safe digital methods.

Publications

  • Hyvonen K, Pylvanainen P, Muotka J, Lappalainen R. The Effects of Dance Movement Therapy in the Treatment of Depression: A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial in Finland. Front Psychol. 2020 Aug 12;11:1687. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01687. eCollection 2020.

    PubMed 32903394

  • Cooney GM, Dwan K, Greig CA, Lawlor DA, Rimer J, Waugh FR, McMurdo M, Mead GE. Exercise for depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Sep 12;2013(9):CD004366. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004366.pub6.

    PubMed 24026850

  • BECK AT, WARD CH, MENDELSON M, MOCK J, ERBAUGH J. An inventory for measuring depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1961 Jun;4:561-71. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004. No abstract available.

    PubMed 13688369

  • Jeong YJ, Hong SC, Lee MS, Park MC, Kim YK, Suh CM. Dance movement therapy improves emotional responses and modulates neurohormones in adolescents with mild depression. Int J Neurosci. 2005 Dec;115(12):1711-20. doi: 10.1080/00207450590958574.

    PubMed 16287635

  • Karkou V, Aithal S, Zubala A, Meekums B. Effectiveness of Dance Movement Therapy in the Treatment of Adults With Depression: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analyses. Front Psychol. 2019 May 3;10:936. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00936. eCollection 2019.

    PubMed 31130889

  • Kaufman J, Birmaher B, Brent D, Rao U, Flynn C, Moreci P, Williamson D, Ryan N. Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL): initial reliability and validity data. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1997 Jul;36(7):980-8. doi: 10.1097/00004583-199707000-00021.

    PubMed 9204677

  • Koch SC, Riege RFF, Tisborn K, Biondo J, Martin L, Beelmann A. Effects of Dance Movement Therapy and Dance on Health-Related Psychological Outcomes. A Meta-Analysis Update. Front Psychol. 2019 Aug 20;10:1806. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01806. eCollection 2019.

    PubMed 31481910

  • Millman LSM, Terhune DB, Hunter ECM, Orgs G. Towards a neurocognitive approach to dance movement therapy for mental health: A systematic review. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2021 Jan;28(1):24-38. doi: 10.1002/cpp.2490. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

    PubMed 32539160

  • Radovic S, Gordon MS, Melvin GA. Should we recommend exercise to adolescents with depressive symptoms? A meta-analysis. J Paediatr Child Health. 2017 Mar;53(3):214-220. doi: 10.1111/jpc.13426. Epub 2017 Jan 10.

    PubMed 28070942

  • Rohricht F, Papadopoulos N, Priebe S. An exploratory randomized controlled trial of body psychotherapy for patients with chronic depression. J Affect Disord. 2013 Oct;151(1):85-91. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2013.05.056. Epub 2013 Jun 14.

    PubMed 23769289

  • Gergov V, Lahti J, Marttunen M, Lipsanen J, Evans C, Ranta K, Laitila A, Lindberg N. Psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the Young Person's Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (YP-CORE) questionnaire. Nord J Psychiatry. 2017 May;71(4):250-255. doi: 10.1080/08039488.2016.1270352. Epub 2017 Jan 13.

    PubMed 28084134

  • Revah-Levy A, Birmaher B, Gasquet I, Falissard B. The Adolescent Depression Rating Scale (ADRS): a validation study. BMC Psychiatry. 2007 Jan 12;7:2. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-7-2.

    PubMed 17222346

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Dance movement therapy in people with Depression, run by Helsinki University Central Hospital at 2 sites in Finland.

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 1 inclusion and 1 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: looking for participants now, as of the sponsor's last update on 26 Dec 2025. 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 Finland. 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?

This study is still under way. Results are not available in the source record yet.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

Contact Riikka Valjakka, MD (+358445185156, riikka.valjakka@hus.fi), or a site near the patient. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-21) (time frame: baseline, 8 weeks, 12 weeks, 6 months). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT07293806, which also lists 12 linked publications.

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 26 Dec 2025.

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