Chronotherapy for patients with a depressive episode treated in a public outpatient mental healthcare clinic in Norway: protocol for a randomised controlled trial.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

Depression is highly prevalent in outpatients receiving treatment for mental disorders. Treatment as usual (TAU) usually consists of either psychotherapy and/or antidepressant medication and often takes several weeks before clinical effect. Chronotherapy, consisting of sleep deprivation, sleep-wake phase advancement and stabilisation, and light therapy, is a possible addition to TAU that may decrease the time to treatment response. This randomised controlled trial will examine the benefits of adding chronotherapy to TAU compared with TAU alone.

Methods and analysis

The trial will include 76 participants with a depressive episode who initiate outpatient treatment at a secondary mental healthcare outpatient clinic at St. Olavs University Hospital. Participants wil

SUBMITTER: Ramfjord LS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10773329 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature