Drama therapy tested as a new way to lift teen depression
NCT ID NCT07548463
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Sep 10, 2026 · Updated 3 times
Summary
This study tests whether a 7-session playback theatre program can improve mental health in adolescents and young adults aged 13 to 24 with mild to moderate depression. Participants will attend weekly 90-minute sessions led by trained social workers and music therapists. The goal is to see if this creative approach reduces depressive symptoms, self-stigma, and stress while boosting self-esteem, hope, and social support.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- playback theatre program
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a creative, non-drug way to reduce depressive symptoms and improve self-esteem and social support in young people.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small early-stage trial with only 120 participants, so results may not apply broadly. The program is behavioural, so effects may be modest and hard to separate from natural recovery.
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 120 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Sep 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Oct 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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13 to 24 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Accepted
You do not need to have the condition being studied to take part.
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: 1. aged between 13 to 24 years; 2. having mild to moderate depression and/or anxiety as assessed using a standardized assessment tool, i.e. Chinese Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-Youth (DASS-Y) with a DASS-Y Depression score between 5 and 12; 3. service users of The Salvation Army social service unit; and 4. giving informed consent to this research work. For those aged below 18, parental consent will be obtained. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Having severe depression (i.e. a DASS-Y Depression score ≥ 13); 2. Having severe anxiety (i.e. a DASS-Y Anxiety score ≥ 8); and 3. Having suicidal risk
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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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City University of Hong Kong
RECRUITINGKowloon Tong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong