Can flexible online CBT help more students beat depression and anxiety?
NCT ID NCT05333627
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests three versions of internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) for post-secondary students with depression or anxiety: a fast-track option, a 5-week course, and an 8-week course. About 200 students will choose their preferred option and receive optional therapist support. The goal is to see if offering flexible schedules improves how many students complete treatment and how much their symptoms improve.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (ICBT) with optional therapist support
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could show that offering flexible, shorter or self-paced online therapy helps more students complete treatment and feel better.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-stage preference trial, not a large randomized test. Results may not apply to all students, and benefits may be modest.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
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 200 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Nov 2020
- Expected to finish
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Apr 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 years and older
- 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.
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Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * registered as a student at a post-secondary institution in Saskatchewan; over the age of 18; endorse symptoms of depression (score of 5 or greater on the PHQ-9) and/or anxiety (score of 5 or greater on the GAD-7); and be able to access computers and the Internet and be comfortable using them Exclusion Criteria: * high risk of suicide or hospitalization for mental health in previous 12 months; unmanaged alcohol or drug use problems; severe psychiatric illness that is not managed (e.g. psychosis or mania); or receiving other psychological services more than twice per month
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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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Online Therapy Unit, University of Regina
RECRUITINGRegina, Saskatchewan, S4S 0A2, Canada
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