Two Talk Therapies Compared for Adults With Depression
Compares two talk therapies in adults aged 18 to 65 with major depressive disorder.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- University of Haifa
- Where
- Haifa, IsraelSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Supportive-Expressive and Emotion-Focused Treatment for Depression
- Status
- Recruiting
- People taking part
- 124 people, planned
- Started
- 29 Nov 2020
- Expected to end
- 31 May 2027
- Type of study
- Interventional, 2 groups
- Treatments tested
- Supportive-expressive treatment
- Emotions-Focused treatment
- Record updated
- 7 May 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults aged 18 to 65 with major depressive disorder. They will receive one of two talk therapies over four months.
- Age
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All sexes can join.
- Disease stage
- Major depressive disorder confirmed by a structured interview, with a score above 14 on the 17-item Hamilton rating scale for depression at two visits one week apart.
- Earlier treatment
- If taking medication, the dose must have been stable for at least three months and must stay stable during treatment. People currently in psychotherapy cannot join.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Current risk of suicide or self-harm
- Current substance abuse disorder
- Current or past schizophrenia, psychosis or bipolar disorder
- Severe eating disorder needing medical monitoring
- History of organic mental disease
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 10 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Meeting major depressive disorder diagnostic criteria using the structured clinical interviews for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 and scoring more than 14 on the 17-item Hamilton rating scale for depression at two evaluations (one week apart) (Hamilton, 1967)
- If on medication, patients' dosage must be stable for at least three months prior to entering the study, and they must be willing to maintain stable dosage for the duration of treatment
- Age between 18 and 65
- Hebrew language fluency
- Provision of written informed consent
Who cannot take part
- current substance abuse disorders
- current or past schizophrenia or psychosis, bipolar disorder, or severe eating disorder requiring medical monitoring
- history of organic mental disease
- Current risk of suicide or self-harm
- currently in psychotherapy
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 65 years old?
Where in Israel
- University of HaifaHaifa, IsraelContact: Sigal Zilcha-Mano, PhDTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
This study will explore the mechanisms of change that are activated when individuals receive a treatment that targets their weakness and the mechanisms activated when the treatment capitalize on their strength. Patients will be assigned to one of two types of psychotherapies in treating people with a major depression disorder, expressive-supportive vs. emotion-focused treatment. Their ability to benefit from treatment based on their pre-treatment levels of insight and emotional processing will be examined. This is a four-month protocol, with a 2 year follow up period.
The 2 groups in the trial
- Supportive-ExpressiveTreatment being tested
Participants will receive supportive-expressive treatment for 16 weeks.
Treatment: Supportive-expressive treatment
- Emotion-FocusedTreatment being tested
Participants will receive Emotion-Focused treatment for 16 weeks.
Treatment: Emotions-Focused treatment
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Investigating Mechanisms of Change in Supportive-Expressive vs. Emotion-Focused Treatment of Depression Using a Personalized Treatment Approach: The Case of the Theories of Weakness vs. Strength
- Plain-language title
- Two Talk Therapies Compared for Adults With DepressionGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT04576182, who can take part
- Record updated
- 7 May 2026