NCT06696001

Neuroscience of Psychotherapy for Depression

Interbrain Synchronization of the Therapist-Client Dyad in Psychotherapy: Pilot EEG Study in Students With Mild-Moderate Depression Symptoms

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 45 (estimated)
• Sponsor: University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 30 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The goal of this study is to learn the extent to which client-therapist brain activity may synchronize during a psychosocial intervention for depression symptoms. The study will compare behavioral activation, a client-centered type of cognitive-behavioral therapy, to psychoeducation which delivers information on strategies to recover from depression symptoms. Participants will answer questions about their mental and physical health, attend one psychosocial intervention session receiving either Behavioral Activation or Psychoeducation with simultaneous brain activity measurement and complete follow up surveys two weeks and one month following the intervention.

Detailed description

This is a pilot study to investigate the neuroscience of a single-session psychosocial intervention for depression symptoms. Brain activity is measured with EEG in both research participant and therapist. Participants will fill in questionnaires about their depression symptoms and experience during the psychosocial intervention.

Conditions

• Depression

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Psychoeducation	For the psychoeducation session, the focus is for the therapist to engage with the client regarding mental health broadly without a targeted effort to reinforce therapeutic alliance or to offer individualized guidance or techniques. The session will provide educational information on depression, depression symptoms and known causes, and strategies to reduce depression symptoms. The content will be delivered in a fashion to avoid individualization and psychotherapeutic exchange. The elements will focus on components of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), differentiating between thoughts and feelings, common cognitive shortcuts, and the connection between behavior and emotion.
BEHAVIORAL	Behavioral Activation	Behavioral Activation (BA) is a psychotherapy treatment modality used for depression and focuses on replacing maladaptive coping mechanism that reinforce depressive symptoms with adaptive coping mechanisms to increase exposure to positive reinforcement. The treatment will consist of the following elements: Introduction to establish concept of positive reinforcement and build rapport, identification of client-centered values, individualized values-based activity planning and scheduling, and developing adaptive coping strategies for the future.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-04-11
• Primary completion: 2026-06-01
• Completion: 2026-06-30
• First posted: 2024-11-19
• Last updated: 2025-12-18

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States