An interventional study of Transcendental Meditation in Anxiety, Depression - Major Depressive Disorder and Burnout, sponsored by Weill Medical College of Cornell University. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-09.
Sponsored by Weill Medical College of Cornell University · Not applicable, Interventional, and Prevention
The goal of this study is to learn if a meditation intervention called Transcendental Meditation or TM can be used in a small department at Weill Cornell Medicine to help reduce employees' levels of burnout, anxiety, insomnia, and depression as well as to determine the feasibility and acceptability of the meditation practice by Weill Cornell employees. The main question the study aims to answer is whether:
Participants will attend 9 sessions total (8 group sessions and 1 individual session) with a certified TM instructor from The David Lynch Foundation Institute for Mental Health and Resilience where they will gain experience in proper TM techniques. Also, participants will conduct 2 of their own TM sessions at home daily during the course of this study.
5,063 studies on the registry are indexed under Anxiety Disorders; 1,408 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 15 is below the median of 80 across 4,339 interventional studies indexed under Anxiety Disorders.
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Of its 123 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 94 (76%) have results posted.
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Exclusion Criteria:
Participants will undergo a TM training program of nine sessions and practice the TM technique twice daily for approximately 20 minutes
Behavioral: Transcendental Meditation
Participants will undergo a TM training program of nine sessions and practice the TM technique twice daily for approximately 20 minutes.The TM training program will include a total of 9 sessions conducted by experienced certified TM instructors: an introductory session (Session 0, described above), core instruction consisting of 4 sessions taught on 4 consecutive days (Sessions 1-4, 60-75 minutes each), followed by 4 follow-up sessions offered at intervals over the following 3 months (Sessions 5-8, 45 minutes each). All 9 sessions will be completed within 3.5 months from the time of the first session.
Also known as: TM
Adherence to home practice of TM (1 month from baseline)
Adherence to home TM practice will be assessed at 1 month post TM instruction, using a self-report form. Adherence to home TM practice will be the number of participants who responded that they did at least one home TM practice session per day on average out of all study participants. The self report survey asks participants over the past week and month how often they have done TM at home with three choices: 1) Twice a day, 2) Once a Day, and 3) Rarely or not at all. "Adherence" to home TM practice will be defined as at least one home TM practice session per day on average on this survey.
Time frame: 1 month
Adherence to home practice of TM (3 months from baseline)
Adherence to home TM practice will be assessed at 3 month post TM instruction, using a self-report form. Adherence to home TM practice will be the number of participants who responded that they did at least one home TM practice session per day on average out of all study participants. The self report survey asks participants over the past week and month how often they have done TM at home with three choices: 1) Twice a day, 2) Once a Day, and 3) Rarely or not at all. "Adherence" to home TM practice will be defined as at least one home TM practice session per day on average on this survey.
Time frame: 3 month
Percentage of participants who attend 6 of the 8 training sessions over the course of the 3-month study
Attendance at TM training sessions (feasibility) will be quantified as a binary outcome (either yes or no) based on whether at least 80% of the participants attend 6 of the 8 training sessions over the course of the 3 month study.
Time frame: 3 months
Change in Level of Anxiety from Baseline to 1 month
Anxiety symptoms will be evaluated between baseline and 1 month with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) which is a brief 7-item anxiety questionnaire. The survey has 7 question prompts evaluating anxiety symptoms over the past 2 weeks and ranges from the lowest score of 0 to highest total score of 21. The highest score indicates severe anxiety while the lowest score indicates minimal anxiety.
Time frame: baseline, 1 month
Change in Level of Anxiety from Baseline to 3 months
Anxiety symptoms will be evaluated between baseline and 3 months with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) which is a brief 7-item anxiety questionnaire . The survey has 7 question prompts evaluating anxiety symptoms over the past 2 weeks and ranges from the lowest score of 0 to highest total score of 21. The highest score indicates severe anxiety while the lowest score indicates minimal anxiety.
Time frame: baseline, 3 months
Change in Depression Score from Baseline to 1 Month
The depression score will be measured by the NIH Promis Emotional Distress-Depression Short Form 6a. The survey has 6 questions prompts evaluating depression levels over the past week. The survey ranges from a lowest score of 0 indicating minimal to no depression and a highest score of 30 indicating severe depression. These surveys will evaluate change in depression from baseline to 1 month.
Time frame: baseline, 1 month
Change in Depression Score from Baseline to 3 Months
The depression score will be measured by the NIH Promis Emotional Distress-Depression Short Form 6a. The survey has 6 questions prompts evaluating depression levels over the past week. The survey ranges from a lowest score of 0 indicating minimal to no depression and a highest score of 30 indicating severe depression. These surveys will evaluate change in depression from baseline to 3 months.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months
Change in Burnout Score from Baseline to 1 Month
Changes in feelings of burnout will be measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Medical Personnel and will be assessed between baseline and 1 month. This survey has 22 question prompts related to how the employee feels from work related stress over the course of year. Respondents rate items on a frequency scale from 0 (Never) to 6 (Every day). The scores for the following three categories are added up independently: * Emotional Exhaustion (EE): 9 items summed to a range of 0 to 54. Higher scores mean greater emotional depletion while lower score indicate less emotional exhaustion * Depersonalization / Cynicism (DP): 5 items summed to a range of 0 to 30. Higher scores mean greater detachment and cynicism while lower scores indicate less detachment or cynicism * Personal Accomplishment (PA): 8 items summed to a range of 0 to 48. Lower scores indicate reduced professional efficacy and a higher risk of burnout while higher scores indicate less burnout risk and more accomplishment.
Time frame: baseline, 1 month
Change in Burnout Score from Baseline to 3 Months
Changes in feelings of burnout will be measured by the Maslach Burnout Inventory for Medical Personnel and will be assessed between baseline and 1 month. This survey has 22 question prompts related to how the employee feels from work related stress over the course of year. Respondents rate items on a frequency scale from 0 (Never) to 6 (Every day). The scores for the following three categories are added up independently: * Emotional Exhaustion (EE): 9 items summed to a range of 0 to 54. Higher scores mean greater emotional depletion while lower score indicate less emotional exhaustion * Depersonalization / Cynicism (DP): 5 items summed to a range of 0 to 30. Higher scores mean greater detachment and cynicism while lower scores indicate less detachment or cynicism * Personal Accomplishment (PA): 8 items summed to a range of 0 to 48. Lower scores indicate reduced professional efficacy and a higher risk of burnout while higher scores indicate less burnout risk and greater accomplishment
Time frame: Baseline, 3 months
Change in Sleep Disturbance from Baseline to 1 Month
Change in sleep disturbance between 1 month and baseline will be evaluated with the Insomnia Severity Index which has 7 question prompts. The survey ranges from a low score of 0 indicating no sleep disturbance to a maximum score of 28 indicating severe clinical insomnia.
Time frame: baseline, 1 month
Change in Sleep Disturbance from Baseline to 3 Month
Change in sleep disturbance between 3 month and baseline will be evaluated with the Insomnia Severity Index which has 7 question prompts. The survey ranges from a low score of 0 indicating no sleep disturbance to a maximum score of 28 indicating severe clinical insomnia.
Time frame: Baseline, 3 Months
Change Mental Well-Being from Baseline to 1 month
Change in mental well-being between baseline and 1 month will measured by the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale which is a 14 item survey assessing feelings and thoughts regarding well-being over the past 2 weeks. The scores range from a low of 14 indicating very poor well being to a high of 70 indicating very good well being.
Time frame: baseline, 1 month
Change in Mental Well Being from Baseline to 3 Months
Change in mental well-being between baseline and 3 months will measured by the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale which is a 14 item survey assessing feelings and thoughts regarding well-being over the past 2 weeks. The scores range from a low of 14 indicating very poor well being to a high of 70 indicating very good well being.
Time frame: baseline, 3 month
Change in Resilience Score from Baseline to 1 Month
Resilience scores will be measured by the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) at Baseline and 1 month and the change in scores calclulated. The BRS is a 6 item survey with scores ranging from a low of 6 to a high of 30. 6 indicates very low resilience and 30 superior resilience
Time frame: baseline, 1 month
Change in Resilience Score from Baseline to 3 Months
Resilience scores will be measured by the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) at Baseline and 3 months and the change in scores calclulated. The BRS is a 6 item survey with scores ranging from a low of 6 to a high of 30. 6 indicates very low resilience and 30 superior resilience
Time frame: Baseline, 3 Months
Plan to share: No
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