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Behavioral Activation for Anhedonia

N/A
Waitlist Available
Led By Gabriel S Dichter, PhD
Research Sponsored by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Eligibility Criteria Checklist
Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial
Must have
Be between 18 and 65 years old
Timeline
Screening 3 weeks
Treatment Varies
Follow Up baseline, post-treatment (between 8 to 15 weeks)
Awards & highlights

Summary

This trial is testing a new therapy called BATA that helps people with anhedonia, a condition where they struggle to feel pleasure or motivation. The therapy encourages them to engage in meaningful activities and reduces avoidance behaviors. The goal is to see if this can improve their brain's response to rewards and overall mental health. Behavioral Activation Therapy (BAT) has been shown to improve reward seeking and reduce depression.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks
Treatment ~ Varies
Follow Up ~baseline, post-treatment (between 8 to 15 weeks)
This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and baseline, post-treatment (between 8 to 15 weeks) for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.
Primary study objectives
Change in Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale Score Over Time
Secondary study objectives
Change in Neural Activation During MID Task Anticipation Phase
Change in Neural Activation During MID Task Outcome Phase

Trial Design

2Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Active Control
Group I: Behavioral ActivationExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
Treatment will consist of 15 weekly 45-minute sessions. Session 1 provides orientation and psychoeducation on anhedonia, and activity monitoring is introduced. Sessions 2-3 include structured values assessments of 10 life areas to enhance motivation for sustained behavior change and to clarify goals. Following goals clarification, an activity hierarchy is developed, establishing a set of idiographic behavioral targets across life areas prioritized by ease of implementation to scaffold task engagement during the course of treatment.
Group II: Mindfulness TreatmentActive Control1 Intervention
BATA will be compared to mindfulness based cognitive therapy (MBCT), chosen because its mechanisms of action are hypothesized to impact different brain mechanisms than BATA. Mindfulness is nonjudgmentally bringing awareness and acceptance to one's present-moment experience. MBCT will be administered in an individual format. The MBCT protocol will be modeled on the session outlines presented in Wahbeh et al., 2014. Treatment will be compromised of 15 weekly 45-minute sessions.
Treatment
First Studied
Drug Approval Stage
How many patients have taken this drug
Behavioral Activation
2013
Completed Phase 3
~2940

Find a Location

Who is running the clinical trial?

University of North Carolina, Chapel HillLead Sponsor
1,543 Previous Clinical Trials
4,248,926 Total Patients Enrolled
3 Trials studying Anhedonia
195 Patients Enrolled for Anhedonia
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)NIH
2,869 Previous Clinical Trials
2,777,420 Total Patients Enrolled
17 Trials studying Anhedonia
1,726 Patients Enrolled for Anhedonia
Duke UniversityOTHER
2,424 Previous Clinical Trials
3,065,968 Total Patients Enrolled
1 Trials studying Anhedonia
57 Patients Enrolled for Anhedonia
~19 spots leftby Sep 2025
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