Mind meld? study probes brain synchrony in therapy for depression
NCT ID NCT06696001
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Aug 28, 2026 · Updated 2 times
Summary
This study looks at whether the brain activity of a therapist and a client can become synchronized during a therapy session for mild to moderate depression. Researchers will measure brain waves using EEG while students receive either behavioral activation therapy or education about depression. The goal is to understand how this brain-to-brain connection might work, not to test a new treatment. About 45 students aged 18-30 with mild to moderate depression will take part.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 45 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Apr 2025
- Expected to finish
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Jun 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 30 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria for participants/clients: * Between ages 18 and 30 * Full-time student status (undergraduate, graduate, and professional) * Experience mild to moderate depressive symptoms as determined by the Beck Depression Inventory (score: 14-28) * Capacity to understand study procedures (informed consent) * Ability to speak and understand English * Willingness to comply with study procedures Inclusion Criteria for therapists: * Ages 18 or older * Qualification to administer therapy (decided by the Principal Investigator) * Capacity to understand the study procedures (informed consent) * Speak and understand English * Willingness to comply with study procedures Exclusion Criteria for participants/clients: * Active, Current Suicidal ideation as determined by the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) in the past month * Past suicidal attempt (lifetime) * Recently initiated psychotherapy (past month) * Elevated psychosis risk based on self-report prodromal questionnaire - brief version (PQ-B) or self-reported diagnosis of psychotic disorder by mental health provider * Positive screen for autism spectrum disorder based on the self-report autism quotient (AQ-10) or self-reported diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder by mental health provider, * Daily intake of benzodiazepine of \>20 mg diazepam milligram equivalent * Inability to give informed, voluntary, written consent to participate * Inability to effectively communicate in English as determined by interaction with study personnel * Anything else that in the assessment of the study team is not conducive to the successful completion of the study requirements. There are no exclusion criteria for therapists
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Carolina Center for Neurostimulation
RECRUITINGChapel Hill, North Carolina, 27516, United States
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