Miles for Mental Health

Summary

Common mental health disorders, like anxiety and depression, are widespread among the American population. The prevalence of mental health disorders among adults continues has consistently increased from previous decades and is now a major public health challenge. Data shows that 1 in 5 Americans regularly report feeling depressed. Therapy is supported as an effective means of treating mental anxiety and depression, and lessening their severity. But therapy is expensive and not always covered by insurance. It is well known that exercise provides physiological and psychological benefits to those suffering from mental health disorders. However, prescribing and monitoring exercise can be challenging, if not impossible, for mental health practitioners, and individuals often are unsure how to begin an exercise program on their own. Studies that have investigated the impact on exercise on mental health have delivered exercise using a traditional clinical trial exercise structure, where exercise is completed by the client/patient under the supervision of a professional. This structure, while beneficial, does not always transfer well to real-world settings. Working one-on-one with an exercise professional poses financial and scheduling barriers for most. Few, if any, studies have used group exercise and group therapy to address mental health concerns. This study aims to combine cardiovascular exercise with group therapy to investigate the impact of cardiovascular fitness on mental health outcomes among Rural dwelling adults living with generalized anxiety and/or depressive disorders.

Conditions

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
• Depressive and Anxiety Disorders

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Exercise

Adults (ages 18 years +) living in Rural Kansas will be recruited to participate in a cardiovascular exercise group via referral from their mental health practitioner (clinical psychologist or clinical counselor). Only participants with a diagnosis of generalized anxiety and/or a depressive disorder will be enrolled to participate in this study. Participants will complete a cardiovascular fitness assessment (VO2submax) via a field test, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screening Instrument (GAD-7). Participants will then be asked to complete twice weekly group walking and jogging sessions, coupled with short CBT activities. Sessions will include 45-60 minutes of structured walking and/or jogging and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) exercises led by a trained practitioner (LPC and GRA in Clinical Psychology). Upon completion of the 8-week group exercise + CBT intervention, all assessments will be completed again and data analyzed.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS)

  collaborator NIH

• Emporia State University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Steven E Blocker Jr, MS, LPC · Emporia State University

Study Design

Allocation

NA

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-07-27

Primary Completion

2026-12-20

Completion

2026-12-31