An interventional study of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Whole-Body Hyperthermia in Major Depressive Disorder, sponsored by University of California, San Francisco. Not yet recruiting at 3 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-13.
Sponsored by University of California, San Francisco · Not applicable, Interventional, and Treatment
This randomized 2x2 factorial intervention trial administers 8 weekly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions (yes/no) and 4 bi-weekly active whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) sessions (yes/no) to adults aged 18 years or older with major depressive disorder (MDD).
Major Depressive Disorder afflicts more than hundreds of millions of people worldwide and is the leading cause of life years lost to disability. Current treatments have important limitations in efficacy and, in the case of medication, substantial side effects. There is thus a compelling need for additional effective, well-tolerated treatments. One such potential treatment is whole-body hyperthermia (WBH). The investigators hypothesize that WBH may be particularly effective in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an established treatment for depression. This randomized 2x2 factorial intervention trial administers 8 weekly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions (yes/no) and 4 bi-weekly active whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) sessions (yes/no) to adults aged 18 years or older with major depressive disorder (MDD). This work holds important promise to improve the treatment of depression and to advance understanding of the role of integrated mind-body therapies for mood disorders.
3,041 studies on the registry are indexed under Depressive Disorder, Major; 588 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 60 is below the median of 79 across 2,530 interventional studies indexed under Depressive Disorder, Major.
Browse Depressive Disorder, Major studies →University of California, San Francisco is the lead sponsor of 2,169 studies on the registry; 372 are open to participants now.
Of its 267 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 202 (76%) have results posted.
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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.
Exclusion Criteria:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
DSM diagnostic criteria
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental health diagnoses. DSM-5 (2013, revised as DSM-5-TR in 2022) replaced DSM-IV, and some studies still name the older edition. “Meets DSM criteria for …” means diagnosed by that edition’s diagnostic criteria, usually by a clinician in an interview.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Contraception
Ways of preventing pregnancy. “Highly effective” methods fail less than 1% of the time a year when used correctly — for example an IUD or an implant.
Criteria usually say which methods count and how long to keep using them after the last dose, sometimes for male participants too. Some studies accept a partner’s vasectomy if it was confirmed successful and that person is the participant’s only sexual partner.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Platelets
Blood cells that help blood clot. Too few raises the risk of bleeding and bruising. A usual adult range is about 150–400 × 10⁹/L (150,000–400,000 per µL); each lab has its own reference range.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Hypersensitivity
An allergy, or another reaction of the immune system, to a substance. “Hypersensitivity to the study drug” means a known allergic reaction to it — not every side effect a medicine can have.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Corticosteroids (steroids)
Anti-inflammatory medicines such as prednisone, prednisolone and dexamethasone — not the anabolic steroids used for muscle.
Studies differ in what they allow: check which steroid medicines, routes (tablets, injections, creams, inhalers, eye drops) and doses this study accepts.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
No study-provided interventions. In this design, participants randomized to receive neither intervention can receive any treatment recommended by their healthcare provider (except for engagement with new WBH practices).
Participants receive 4 bi-weekly whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) sessions that raise core body temperature to 38.5 C. Each WBH session (including preparation and post-session activities) is up to approximately 3.5 hours.
Device: Whole-Body Hyperthermia
Participants receive 8 cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions. Each CBT session is approximately 50 minutes.
Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Participants receive 8 cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions and 4 bi-weekly whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) sessions that raise core body temperature to 38.5 C. Each WBH session (including preparation and post-session activities) is up to approximately 3.5 hours, and each CBT session is approximately 50 minutes.
Behavioral: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) · Device: Whole-Body Hyperthermia
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a behavioral (psychotherapeutic) intervention for major depressive disorder (MDD). A highly trained masters' or PhD-level clinician will administer 8 weekly CBT sessions (\~50 minutes each), following the standard cognitive behavioral therapy for depression protocol.
Active whole-body hyperthermia (active WBH) will be administered by trained research assistants. Preparation for the active WBH session, the active WBH session, and cool down will last 3.5 hours, with heating lasting approximately 90-100 minutes (and no longer than 140 minutes). The treatment will take place in an infrared sauna dome, and the active heating phase will last until the participants has achieved a core (rectal) temperature of 38.5 C.
Retention
Proportion of participants completing the final assessment (Target: 80% of participants)
Time frame: 12 weeks
CBT Intervention Fidelity
Proportion of CBT sessions coded in the proficient range (score of 48 or greater) on the Cognitive Therapy Scale - Revised (Target: 85% of sessions)
Time frame: 12 weeks
WBH Intervention Fidelity
Proportion of participants randomized to receive WBH who achieve a core body temperature of 38.5 C at one or more WBH sessions (Target: 80% of participants)
Time frame: 12 weeks
Study Assessment Completion
Proportion of study assessments completed, including weekly surveys and post-intervention and follow-up assessments (Target: 85% of assessments)
Time frame: 6 months
Plan to share: Yes — The final IPD dataset will include self-reported demographic data, other self-reported data (e.g., subjective mood measures), and clinician-assessed data (e.g., depression diagnosis status).
Supporting information: Study protocol, Statistical analysis plan, Informed consent form
Time frame: Beginning 3 months after the publication of results and unending.
Access criteria: Data will be accessible via the Vivli platform. To access IPD arising from this project, users must complete the Vivli data request form and sign the Vivli Data Use Agreement, which limits subsequent use to the terms of the approved request and requires that users maintain data security, and refrain from any attempts to reidentify research participants or engage in any unauthorized uses of the data. In order to get access to the data, the user must submit a valid scientific question, include a statistical analysis plan, and complete all required fields on the Vivli data request form. Vivli will review the data request for completeness. Anyone who has submitted an approved data request and signed a data use agreement on Vivli will be given access to the data. Vivli will then make the data available, without cost, to users for a set period of time. Vivli will maintain storage and access of the data for as long as it maintains scientific utility.
Data sharing details ↗ · vivli.org
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Oct 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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