CBT+ for Depression (CBT+)
ActiveCBT for Depression: Transforming Treatment Through Exercise Priming
Study Overview
Status
Status
Conditions
Conditions
Intervention / Treatment
Intervention / Treatment
Detailed Description
Study Type
Study Type
Enrollment (Actual)
Enrollment
Phase
Phase
- Not Applicable
Contacts and Locations
Study Contact
Study Contact
- Name: Jacob Meyer, PhD
- Phone Number: 515-294-1386
- Email: jdmeyer3@iastate.edu
Study Locations
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Iowa
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Ames, Iowa, United States, 50010
- Iowa State University
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Participation Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Eligibility Criteria
Ages Eligible for Study
- Adult
- Older Adult
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Description
Inclusion Criteria:
- Diagnosed with DSM-5 MDD, confirmed via SCID.
- Having current depressive symptoms of at least mild severity defined by HAM-D rating ≥8.
- Being between age 18 and 65.
- Either not engaging in any mental health treatment (e.g., medication, psychological, or behavioral) OR on a stable mental health treatment regimen and willing to maintain it for the length of the intervention.
- Willing and safe to exercise based on the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire.
- Being CBT-naïve (as defined by never undergoing structured CBT).
Exclusion Criteria:
- currently pregnant, nursing, or planning to become pregnant,
- severe obesity (BMI=40)
- diagnosed with lifetime or current Psychosis, Mania, or Bipolar Disorder, via the SCID
- diagnosed with current Substance Use Disorder, via the SCID
- pose an imminent risk of self-harm or harm to others, assessed via the C-SSRS
- exhibit behavioral disturbance (e.g., aggression, mild-moderate cognitive impairment) that would significantly interfere with study participation, assessed by clinical research personnel
Study Plan
How is the study designed?
Design Details
- Primary Purpose: Treatment
- Allocation: Randomized
- Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
- Masking: Double
Number of Arms
Arms and Interventions
Participant Group / ArmParticipant Group / Arm |
Intervention / TreatmentIntervention / Treatment |
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Experimental: ActiveCBT
Participants will complete a standardized 30-minute exercise session on a stationary bike prior to therapy.
Participants will view one of 8 standardized 30-minute nature documentary videos while exercising.
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Participants will complete a standardized 30-minute aerobic exercise session on a stationary bicycle prior to therapy.
Supervised exercise sessions will consist of steady-state exercise at a moderate intensity corresponding to a '13' or 'somewhat hard' rating of perceived exertion.
Continuous monitoring of heart rate, resistance/load, and RPE will occur throughout exercise.
To closely match the groups, participants will also view 30-minute nature videos while exercising.
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Active Comparator: CalmCBT
Participants will view one of 8 standardized 30-minute nature documentary videos while resting quietly prior to therapy.
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Participants will view one of 8 standardized 30-minute nature videos while resting quietly prior to therapy.
These are emotionally neutral videos and will allow for participants in both groups to have the same amount of attention and contact time.
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What is the study measuring?
Primary Outcome Measures
Primary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
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Average Self-reported Working Alliance Measured by Working Alliance Inventory (WAI)
Time Frame: Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits
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Working Alliance Inventory-Short Revised (WAI) is a 12-item survey on experiences over a therapy session and connection with a therapist.
It consists of three subscales: tasks, goals, and therapist-client bond.
The total range of scores is from 12-84 with higher scores indicating a better therapeutic alliance.
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Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits
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Self-reported Behavioral Activation Measured by Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS)
Time Frame: Intake, Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow-up
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The Behavioral Activation for Depression Scale (BADS) will be used to assess changes in behavioral activity.
The scale is designed to be administered weekly to measure changes over the course of Behavioral Activation for depression.
It consists of 25 questions that inquire about Activation, Avoidance/Rumination, Work/School Impairment, and Social Impairment.
Each item is rated on a 7-point scale from 0 (Not at all) to 6 (Completely) with total scores ranging: 0-150 where higher scores indicate greater behavioral activation.
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Intake, Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow-up
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Secondary Outcome Measures
Secondary Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
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Change in Clinician-rated Depression Symptoms Measured by GRID-Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (GRID-HAM-D) From Intake
Time Frame: Intake, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow up
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The GRID-HAM-D is a clinician-completed questionnaire that will be used to rate depressive symptom severity.
The questionnaire is designed for adults and is used to rate the intensity and frequency of depressive symptoms by probing mood, feelings of guilt, suicidal ideation, insomnia, agitation or retardation, anxiety, weight loss, and somatic symptoms.
As recommended by the Depression Rating Scale Standardization Team, Clinical Interviewers will follow the Structured Interview Guide and use GRID scoring, in which dimensions of intensity and frequency of a symptom are rated independently for each item.
Total scores are calculated from each question and range from 0 to 52, with higher scores indicated greater depressive symptom severity.
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Intake, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow up
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Change in Self-reported Depression Symptoms Measured by Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) From Week 1
Time Frame: Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow-up
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The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a 9-question self-report instrument used to assess presence and severity of depressive symptoms, with scores categorized 0-4, 5-9, 10-14, 15-19, and 20-27 as minimal, mild, moderate, moderately severe, and severe depression, respectively.
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Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow-up
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MDD Diagnosis Measured by Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Disorders (SCID)
Time Frame: Intake, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow up
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The SCID is a clinician-administered semi-structured interview guide for making diagnoses according to the diagnostic criteria published in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5).
It provides diagnoses for inclusion and exclusionary diagnoses.
Results show number of participants who meet criteria for Major Depressive Disorder (i.e., 'checked') or no longer meet criteria (i.e., 'unchecked').
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Intake, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow up
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Average Anhedonia Measured by Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS)
Time Frame: Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits (repeated 3 times [before exercise/calm condition, immediately after exercise/calm condition, and after therapy])
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The DARS is a self-report measure that assesses state anhedonia across multiple domains.
DARS is a 17-item survey on state anhedonia divided into four domains: hobbies, food/drink, social activities, and sensory experiences.
Subjects must list two activities within each of these categories that they consider their favorite and then respond to questions regarding their interest in/enjoyment of those activities on a 5-point Likert scale from "Not at all" (0) to "Very much" (4), with total scores ranging from 0 to 68, with higher scores representing reduced anhedonia.
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Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits (repeated 3 times [before exercise/calm condition, immediately after exercise/calm condition, and after therapy])
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Average Anhedonia Measured by an Anhedonia Visual Analogue Scale (Anhedonia VAS)
Time Frame: Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits (repeated 3 times [before exercise/calm condition, immediately after exercise/calm condition, and after therapy])
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An anhedonia Visual Analog Scale [VAS] with 0 indicating 'No pleasure at all' and 100 indicating 'Greatest pleasure imaginable' will be used to measure anhedonia.
The VAS will be used to provide a supplementary assessment of anhedonia.
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Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits (repeated 3 times [before exercise/calm condition, immediately after exercise/calm condition, and after therapy])
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Serum Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)
Time Frame: Weeks 1, 4, and 8 CBT+ visits (before exercise/calm condition, immediately after exercise/calm condition, and after therapy)
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Serum BDNF will be quantified from a standard blood draw.
Blood samples collected during Visits 1, 4, and 8 will be allowed to clot for 30 minutes and then centrifuged for ten minutes at 5500 RPM and 4 ◦C.
Following centrifugation, blood serum will be extracted with samples stored at -80 ◦C until BDNF analysis.
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits will measure the concentration of total BDNF in the serum according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Each blood sample will be run in duplicate and averaged.
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Weeks 1, 4, and 8 CBT+ visits (before exercise/calm condition, immediately after exercise/calm condition, and after therapy)
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Change in Anxiety Measured by Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) From Intake
Time Frame: Intake, week 4 CBT+ visit, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow up
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Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) is a self-reported questionnaire for measuring generalized anxiety disorder.
GAD-7 has seven items, which measure the severity of various signs of GAD according to reported response categories of: Not at all (0 points), Several days (1 point), More than half the days (2 points), and Nearly every day (3 points).
A total score is calculated ranging from 0 to 21, with higher scores indicating more severe anxiety symptoms.
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Intake, week 4 CBT+ visit, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow up
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Average Automatic Thoughts Measured by Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATQ)
Time Frame: Intake, weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow-up
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The ATQ is a 30-item instrument that measures the frequency of automatic negative statements about the self.
Each item is rated on the frequency of an occurrence from "not at all" to "all the time".
Total scores are the sum of all 30 items (ranging 30-150), with higher totals indicating a higher level of automatic negative self-statements.
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Intake, weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow-up
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Average Session Effectiveness Measured by Session Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ)
Time Frame: Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits
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Session Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ) will be used to evaluate session effectiveness.
This includes responses to twenty-one items in a 7-point bipolar adjective format questionnaire to assess how the client feels about each CBT session.
The questionnaire assesses session depth, smoothness, positivity, and arousal.
An overall score of the subscales will be used in this study (ranging 7-28).
Higher scores indicate more favorable session evaluations.
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Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits
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Other Outcome Measures
Other Outcome Measures
Outcome Measure |
Measure Description |
Time Frame |
|---|---|---|
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Nature Connectedness Index (NCI)
Time Frame: Intake, Weeks 1, 4, and 8 CBT+ visits (before exercise/calm condition, immediately after exercise/calm condition, and after therapy)
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The NCI consist of 6 questions pertaining to nature connectedness.
Participants respond using a 7-point Likert scale, ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 7 (Strongly Agree), with higher scores indicating greater levels of nature connectedness.
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Intake, Weeks 1, 4, and 8 CBT+ visits (before exercise/calm condition, immediately after exercise/calm condition, and after therapy)
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Health History Questions
Time Frame: Intake
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Health history will be self-reported.
In addition, participants will be asked to list their current medications.
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Intake
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Demographic Questionnaire
Time Frame: Intake
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Demographic characteristics including age, sex, race, education, marital status, occupational status, and household income will be recorded or measured to characterize the sample.
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Intake
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Adverse Childhood Experience Survey (ACES)
Time Frame: Intake
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The ACES consists of 16 questions pertaining to the respondents' first 18 years of life.
Participants respond with yes or no regarding if a childhood adverse event occurred.
Adverse events questions are grouped by categories.
Participants are scored for each event category they are exposed to with scores ranging from 0 (unexposed) to 7 (exposed to all categories).
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Intake
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Average Lyssn Generated Scores
Time Frame: Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits
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Lyssn is an AI-powered assessment platform for recording and managing session files, and all clinical interviews and therapy sessions will be recorded on the Lyssn platform.
Lyssn will process the audio files from therapy sessions to generate session-level data regarding collaboration and empathy as metrics related to the primary client ratings of working alliance, as well as generating CTRS fidelity metrics which will be used in the ongoing supervision and fidelity monitoring of all sessions.
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Weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits
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Change in Monitor-assessed Physical Activity Measured by Accelerometry
Time Frame: Intake, weeks 4 & 8 CBT+ visits (monitors worn 1 week following each time point)
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Participants will place an activPAL on the midline of the thigh on either leg and wear the monitor during all waking hours, removing it only for water-based activities (e.g., swimming).
For data to be valid, the monitor must have been worn for 20 hours on at least 4 days, including a minimum of 3 weekdays and 1 weekend day.
Sleep time will be parsed out from each day's sitting/lying time automatically using PALanalysis.
From these data, average minutes of sitting per day will be used to assess total sedentary time, minutes of stepping time with a cadence ≥75 and <100 will be used to assess minutes of light-intensity physical activity and minutes of stepping time with a cadence ≥100 will be used to assess minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA).
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Intake, weeks 4 & 8 CBT+ visits (monitors worn 1 week following each time point)
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Change in Quality of Life Measured by the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36)
Time Frame: Intake, week 4 CBT+ visit, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow up
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The SF-36 assesses health-related quality of life.
It consists of eight scaled scores (including vitality, physical functioning, bodily pain, general health perceptions, physical role functioning, emotional role functioning, social role functioning, and mental health), which are the weighted sums of the questions in their section.
Each scale is directly transformed into a 0-100 scale on the assumption that each question carries equal weight.
The higher the score the less disability (i.e., a score of zero is equivalent to maximum disability and a score of 100 is equivalent to no disability).
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Intake, week 4 CBT+ visit, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow up
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Change in Self-reported Physical Activity Measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire - Short Form (IPAQ-SF)
Time Frame: Intake, week 4 CBT+ visit, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow up
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The IPAQ is a physical activity questionnaire that inquires about average amounts of walking, moderate physical activity, vigorous physical activity, and sitting time per week.
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Intake, week 4 CBT+ visit, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow up
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Change in Suicidal Thoughts Measured by the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (CSSRS)
Time Frame: Intake, weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow-up
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The C-SSRS will be used to assess and monitor suicide ideation and behavior.
The severity of the ideation subscale is rated on a 5-point ordinal scale: 1 = wish to be dead, 2 = nonspecific active suicidal thoughts, 3 = suicidal thoughts with methods, 4 =suicidal intent, and 5 = suicidal intent with plan.
Suicide behaviors are rated on a nominal scale that includes actual, aborted, and interrupted attempts; preparatory behavior; and non-suicidal,self-injurious behavior.
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Intake, weeks 1-8 CBT+ visits, Week 9 (Post-therapy), 12-week follow up, 1-year follow-up
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Collaborators and Investigators
Sponsor
Sponsor
Collaborators
Collaborators
Publications and helpful links
General Publications
- Meyer JD, Kelly SJE, Gidley JM, Lansing JE, Smith SL, Churchill SL, Thomas EBK, Goldberg SB, Abercrombie HC, Murray TA, Wade NG. Protocol for a randomized controlled trial: exercise-priming of CBT for depression (the CBT+ trial). Trials. 2024 Oct 7;25(1):663. doi: 10.1186/s13063-024-08495-x.
- Meyer JD, Kelly SJE, Gidley JM, Lansing JE, Smith SL, Churchill SL, Connolly ML, Thomas EBK, Goldberg SB, Abercrombie HC, Murray TA, Wade NG. Exercise priming to enhance therapeutic bond and behavioral activation in CBT for MDD: a randomized controlled target-engagement trial with remission signal. J Affect Disord. 2026 Jul 15;405:121606. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2026.121606. Epub 2026 Mar 13.
Study record dates
Study Major Dates
Study Start (Actual)
Study Start
Primary Completion (Actual)
Primary Completion
Study Completion (Actual)
Study Completion
Study Registration Dates
First Submitted
First Submitted
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Submitted That Met QC Criteria
First Posted (Actual)
First Posted
Study Record Updates
Last Update Posted (Actual)
Last Update Posted
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria
Last Verified
Last Verified
More Information
Terms related to this study
Additional Relevant MeSH Terms
Other Study ID Numbers
Other Study ID Numbers
- 1R61MH129407 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
- 1R61MH129407-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
Drug and device information, study documents
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product
Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product
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