ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT00076245Updated Jun 25, 2014Results posted

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for the Treatment of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)

A Phase 1 interventional study of Light Therapy and Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in Seasonal Affective Disorder and Depression, sponsored by Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine. Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2014-06-25.

Sponsored by Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine · Phase 1, Interventional, and Treatment

Phase
Phase 1
Study type
Interventional
Enrollment
61
Allocation
Randomized
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

This study will assess the effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in treating seasonal affective disorder (SAD), commonly called the "winter blues."

Read the detailed description

SAD is a condition in which people experience depression as a result of seasonal variations in sunlight. Although light therapy is a common treatment for SAD, a large proportion of people with SAD are resistant to this treatment. CBT is effective for nonseasonal depressive disorders, but its use for SAD has not been thoroughly explored. This study will determine whether CBT, alone and combined with light therapy, is as effective as light therapy alone in reducing SAD symptoms.

Participants in this study will be randomly assigned to light therapy, CBT, a combination of light therapy and CBT, or a control group (no therapy) for 6 weeks. CBT will be conducted twice a week; light therapy will be conducted twice a day. Assessments will be made before, during, and after the study treatment. Depression scales, questionnaires, and behavioral tasks will be used to assess the depressive symptoms of participants. A 6-month and 1-year follow-up visit will also be conducted. During the follow-up visits, participants will be interviewed and will complete a questionnaire and a survey.

02

Conditions studied

  • Seasonal Affective Disorder
  • Depression

Keywords

  • Phototherapy
03

In context

Seasonal Affective Disorder

31 studies on the registry are indexed under Seasonal Affective Disorder; 2 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 61 is close to the median of 60 across 25 interventional studies indexed under Seasonal Affective Disorder.

Browse Seasonal Affective Disorder studies →

Lead sponsor

Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine is the lead sponsor of 85 studies on the registry; 18 are open to participants now.

Of its 6 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 1 (17%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosis of seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
  • Willing and able to participate in the study procedures

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Major psychological diagnoses other than SAD
  • Current psychological or psychiatric treatment
05

Study design

Phase
Phase 1
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention model
Parallel assignment
Masking
Single
Enrollment
61 participants (actual)

Study arms

  • Experimental
    1 Light therapy

    Behavioral: Light Therapy

  • Experimental
    2 Cognitive behavioral therapy

    Behavioral: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

  • Experimental
    3 Light therapy plus cognitive behavioral therapy

    Behavioral: Light Therapy · Behavioral: Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

  • No intervention
    4 Control

Interventions

  • BehavioralLight Therapy

    Light therapy will involve exposure to bright light twice a day.

  • BehavioralCognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)

    CBT attempts to change maladaptive thoughts and beliefs, and will be conducted twice a week.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Scores on the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version

    The Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version (SIGH-SAD) measures depressive symptoms on a continuous scale. Higher scores indicate worse outcome. Range of scores is 0 to 73. Generally, a score of 20 or higher is the cutoff for clinical depression.

    Time frame: Post-treatment

  2. Remission Status on Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version (SIGH-SAD)

    Dichotomous Remission Status (remitted or not) at post-treatment

    Time frame: Post-treatment

07

Results

Posted Jun 25, 2014

Participant flow

Participant flow — Overall Study
Milestone1 Light Therapy2 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy3 Light Therapy Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy4 Control
Started16151515
Completed16151514
Not completed0001

Outcome measures

PrimaryScores on the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version

The Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version (SIGH-SAD) measures depressive symptoms on a continuous scale. Higher scores indicate worse outcome. Range of scores is 0 to 73. Generally, a score of 20 or higher is the cutoff for clinical depression.

Time frame:
Post-treatment
Reported as:
Mean · units on a scale
Scores on the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version
units on a scale1 Light Therapy2 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy3 Light Therapy Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy4 Control
Scores on the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version13.6 ± 8.813.3 ± 11.18.3 ± 5.822.6 ± 8.4
PrimaryRemission Status on Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version (SIGH-SAD)

Dichotomous Remission Status (remitted or not) at post-treatment

Time frame:
Post-treatment
Reported as:
Number · participants
Remission Status on Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version (SIGH-SAD)
participants1 Light Therapy2 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy3 Light Therapy Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy4 Control
Remission Status on Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-Seasonal Affective Disorder Version (SIGH-SAD)86113

Adverse events

Non-serious events are listed at a 0% frequency threshold.

Adverse event summary by group
GroupDeathsSeriousOther
1 Light Therapy—0/16 (0%)0/16 (0%)
2 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy—0/15 (0%)0/15 (0%)
3 Light Therapy Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy—0/15 (0%)0/15 (0%)
4 Control—0/15 (0%)0/15 (0%)

Baseline characteristics

Age, Continuous
Age, Continuous(years)1 Light Therapy2 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy3 Light Therapy Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy4 ControlTotal
Mean47.6 ± 9.745.9 ± 15.543.0 ± 12.843.3 ± 7.745.0 ± 5.8
Sex: Female, Male
Sex: Female, Male(Participants)1 Light Therapy2 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy3 Light Therapy Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy4 ControlTotal
Female1415141255
Male20136
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Race/Ethnicity, Customized(participants)1 Light Therapy2 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy3 Light Therapy Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy4 ControlTotal
White1311121248
Asian01203
African American22127
Hispanic10012
Other01001
Region of Enrollment
Region of Enrollment(participants)1 Light Therapy2 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy3 Light Therapy Plus Cognitive Behavioral Therapy4 ControlTotal
United States1615151561
08

Study locations

1 site
  • Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)
    Bethesda, Maryland 20814-4799, United States
09

References and documents

10

Timeline

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
Not marked actual or estimatedDates not marked actual or estimated

The record gives a start of Nov 2002, a primary completion of Feb 2004 and a completion of Nov 2005. It does not say whether these dates are actual or estimated.

Results were first posted in Jun 2014, 10 years 4 months after primary completion.

How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.

Registered
Jan 16, 2004
First posted
Jan 19, 2004
Start
Nov 2002
Primary completionActual
Feb 2004
CompletionActual
Nov 2005
Results first posted
Jun 25, 2014
Last update
Jun 25, 2014
What these dates mean
Start.
When the first participant enrolled; while estimated, when the study expects to open to recruitment.
Primary completion.
When the last participant was examined or treated to collect data for the study's main question, its primary outcome. A study that stopped early gives the date its data collection stopped.
Completion.
When the last participant's last visit took place, for every outcome, secondary ones and side effects included: the end of the study. Often later than primary completion, sometimes the same day.
Actual and Est.
Actual means the registry says the date has happened. Est. (estimated) is a date the sponsor plans or expects. It can still move, and the sponsor is expected to change it to actual once it has passed.
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Jun 25, 2014, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
11

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT00076245
Lead sponsor
Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine
Responsible party
Kelly Rohan (Principal Investigator, Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine) — Principal investigator
First posted
Jan 19, 2004
Start date
Nov 2002
Primary completion
Feb 2004
Completion
Nov 2005
Results posted
Jun 25, 2014
Last update
Jun 25, 2014

Study contacts

Kelly J. Rohan, PhD
principal investigator · Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Jun 2014. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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