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Dance-movement Therapy in the Treatment of Adolescent Depression

NCT ID: NCT07293806

Last Updated: 2025-12-26

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

140 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-10-01

Study Completion Date

2027-05-30

Brief Summary

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The aim of this research is to measure the effectiveness of Dance movement therapy in the treatment of adolescent depression.

Detailed Description

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Research will start by recruitment of 140 patients (aged 13-17 years) from youth psychiatric outpatient clinic in Helsinki University Central hospital. They will be randomized to two groups. The intervention group will attend Dance movement therapy (DMT) for 12 weeks and the control group is getting treatment as usual (TAU). The outcome will be measured with self-report questionnaires and interviews measuring symptoms of depression and body image. Outcome measurements will be done before intervention, after intervention and 3 months after intervention has finished. The research will start in September 2022 and continue until the end of 2027. The results will be published in medical scientific journals during the year 2027

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Conditions

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Depression

Keywords

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adolescents depression therapy dance movement

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Dance movement therapy group intervention (DMT) is compared with treatment as usual (TAU)
Primary Study Purpose

TREATMENT

Blinding Strategy

NONE

It is not possible to mask participants or care providers. No need for masking of investigator, since the primary outcome measures are self-reporting questionnaires

Study Groups

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Dance movement therapy

A group of 5-6 patients is recieving Dance movement group therapy once a week for 12 weeks

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Dance movement therapy

Intervention Type OTHER

A group therapy model for treatment of depression by dance movement therapist. Study consist of 12 therapy sessions, each session lasting 1hour 15minutes. There will be 6 patients in each group.

Treatment as usual

Treatment as usual in youth psychiatric outpatient clinic

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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Dance movement therapy

A group therapy model for treatment of depression by dance movement therapist. Study consist of 12 therapy sessions, each session lasting 1hour 15minutes. There will be 6 patients in each group.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Diagnosis of medium or severe depression; BDI 16 points or more. At least 4/9 symptoms of depression in K-SADS-PL interview

Exclusion Criteria

* Acute psychosis, psychotic depression, personality disorder, severe anorexia, substance misuse that is on a critical level
Minimum Eligible Age

13 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

17 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Finnish Medical Foundation

NETWORK

Sponsor Role collaborator

Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Helsinki

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

Helsinki University Central Hospital

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Riikka Valjakka

Medical doctor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Mauri Marttunen, Prof emer

Role: STUDY_CHAIR

University of Helsinki

Henna Haravuori, Docent

Role: STUDY_DIRECTOR

Finnish Institue for Health and Welfare

Locations

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Helsinki University Hospital

Helsinki, , Finland

Site Status RECRUITING

Adolecent mental health services, Helsinki

Helsinki, , Finland

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Finland

Central Contacts

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Riikka Valjakka, MD

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +358445185156

Email: [email protected]

Elina Santti, PhD

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +35894711

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

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Riikka Valjakka, MD

Role: primary

Elina Santti, PhD

Role: backup

Riikka Valjakka, MD

Role: primary

Sari Korpirinne, MD

Role: backup

References

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Hyvonen K, Pylvanainen P, Muotka J, Lappalainen R. The Effects of Dance Movement Therapy in the Treatment of Depression: A Multicenter, Randomized Controlled Trial in Finland. Front Psychol. 2020 Aug 12;11:1687. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01687. eCollection 2020.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32903394 (View on PubMed)

Cooney GM, Dwan K, Greig CA, Lawlor DA, Rimer J, Waugh FR, McMurdo M, Mead GE. Exercise for depression. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013 Sep 12;2013(9):CD004366. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD004366.pub6.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 24026850 (View on PubMed)

BECK AT, WARD CH, MENDELSON M, MOCK J, ERBAUGH J. An inventory for measuring depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1961 Jun;4:561-71. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1961.01710120031004. No abstract available.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 13688369 (View on PubMed)

Jeong YJ, Hong SC, Lee MS, Park MC, Kim YK, Suh CM. Dance movement therapy improves emotional responses and modulates neurohormones in adolescents with mild depression. Int J Neurosci. 2005 Dec;115(12):1711-20. doi: 10.1080/00207450590958574.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 16287635 (View on PubMed)

Karkou V, Aithal S, Zubala A, Meekums B. Effectiveness of Dance Movement Therapy in the Treatment of Adults With Depression: A Systematic Review With Meta-Analyses. Front Psychol. 2019 May 3;10:936. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00936. eCollection 2019.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31130889 (View on PubMed)

Kaufman J, Birmaher B, Brent D, Rao U, Flynn C, Moreci P, Williamson D, Ryan N. Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-SADS-PL): initial reliability and validity data. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1997 Jul;36(7):980-8. doi: 10.1097/00004583-199707000-00021.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 9204677 (View on PubMed)

Koch SC, Riege RFF, Tisborn K, Biondo J, Martin L, Beelmann A. Effects of Dance Movement Therapy and Dance on Health-Related Psychological Outcomes. A Meta-Analysis Update. Front Psychol. 2019 Aug 20;10:1806. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01806. eCollection 2019.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 31481910 (View on PubMed)

Millman LSM, Terhune DB, Hunter ECM, Orgs G. Towards a neurocognitive approach to dance movement therapy for mental health: A systematic review. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2021 Jan;28(1):24-38. doi: 10.1002/cpp.2490. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 32539160 (View on PubMed)

Radovic S, Gordon MS, Melvin GA. Should we recommend exercise to adolescents with depressive symptoms? A meta-analysis. J Paediatr Child Health. 2017 Mar;53(3):214-220. doi: 10.1111/jpc.13426. Epub 2017 Jan 10.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28070942 (View on PubMed)

Rohricht F, Papadopoulos N, Priebe S. An exploratory randomized controlled trial of body psychotherapy for patients with chronic depression. J Affect Disord. 2013 Oct;151(1):85-91. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2013.05.056. Epub 2013 Jun 14.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23769289 (View on PubMed)

Gergov V, Lahti J, Marttunen M, Lipsanen J, Evans C, Ranta K, Laitila A, Lindberg N. Psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the Young Person's Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (YP-CORE) questionnaire. Nord J Psychiatry. 2017 May;71(4):250-255. doi: 10.1080/08039488.2016.1270352. Epub 2017 Jan 13.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 28084134 (View on PubMed)

Revah-Levy A, Birmaher B, Gasquet I, Falissard B. The Adolescent Depression Rating Scale (ADRS): a validation study. BMC Psychiatry. 2007 Jan 12;7:2. doi: 10.1186/1471-244X-7-2.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 17222346 (View on PubMed)

Provided Documents

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Document Type: Study Protocol and Statistical Analysis Plan

View Document

Document Type: Informed Consent Form

View Document

Other Identifiers

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HUS/391/2021

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id