Mechanisms of Change of Positive Interventions in Reducing Vulnerability for Depression

Summary

The purpose of this study is to understand the effects of mindfulness and fantasizing in reducing perseverative cognition underlying vulnerability for depression.

Conditions

• Depression in Remission

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Mindfulness

Participants receive a two-hour professional training to get familiar with the basic techniques of mindfulness. The training is given by a mindfulness professional and consists of psycho-education, instructions for mindfulness and guided practice. It focuses mainly on attending to stimuli such as breathing, external sounds or bodily sensations and becoming aware of where one's attention is. After the professional training, participants receive instructions about the audio application with which participants continue performing short exercises using the learned technique every day guided by an application on their smartphone customized for this research. Specifically, participants perform one short exercise (10 min) per day for in total six days. The exercises that are being performed are: attention to breathing part 1, attention to breathing part 2, attention to sounds, attention to bodily sensations, attention to thoughts, attention to emotions and feelings.

BEHAVIORAL

Positive Fantasizing

In a two-hour training session by a professional trainer, participants get familiar with the positive fantasizing technique. Participants receive psycho-education about the role of dysfunctional beliefs. The positive fantasizing technique starts with identifying dysfunctional "beliefs and schema" and subsequently fantasize about a positive "fantasy belief". Participants are guided by the professional using imagery and experiencing thoughts and feelings that would be elicited when using their fantasy belief as if in an ideal world. After using imagery techniques, participants are asked, with help of the professional, to reflect on their experience during the fantasizing exercise and to think of how they could implement this fantasy belief more in their daily life, by adapting their fantasy belief into a more practical belief. After the training, participants are asked to perform one exercise per day using the fantasizing technique using a mobile application for six days in total.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Groningen

  collaborator OTHER

• Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research

  collaborator OTHER_GOV

• University Medical Center Groningen

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Marie-José van Tol, professor · University Medical Center Groningen

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

OTHER

Masking

NONE

Model

CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

60 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2020-06-19

Primary Completion

2024-01-01

Completion

2024-01-01

Countries

• Netherlands

Study Locations