Active — Not RecruitingNot Applicable

Painhunting Therapy for Interpersonal Event Related Depression

Kazakhstan84 participantsStarted 2026-03-23

Plain-language summary

This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluates the efficacy of Painhunting therapy, a brief structured psychotherapy, for adults with depressive symptoms following adverse life events in Kazakhstan. Eighty-four participants with a history of at least one adverse life event documented by the List of Threatening Experiences (LTE, lifetime version) and a baseline PHQ-9 score of 10 or greater were randomized 1:1 to immediate treatment or a waitlist control. The intervention uses an adaptive treat-to-target design: all treatment-arm participants receive three mandatory individual sessions, with up to three additional sessions (maximum six total) for those meeting pre-specified continuation criteria at the midpoint. The primary outcome is depressive symptom severity measured by the PHQ-9 at Time 2 (2 weeks post-randomization). Recruitment closed on April 14, 2026.

Who can participate

Age range18 Years – 65 Years

SexALL

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Inclusion criteria

✓. Adults aged 18 years or older.
✓. History of at least one adverse life event documented by the List of Threatening Experiences (LTE, lifetime version, Brugha et al., 1985).
✓. PHQ-9 score of 10 or above at screening.
✓. Able to attend therapy sessions in person or via secure video.
✓. Provides written informed consent.

Exclusion criteria

✕. Active suicidal ideation with plan (PHQ-9 item 9 score of 3).
✕. Current psychotic symptoms.
✕. Currently receiving other psychotherapy at enrollment.
✕. Substance dependence requiring medical management.
✕. Current or concurrent enrollment in any Painhunting training, educational, workshop, or reading-group program during the trial period or the three months preceding enrollment. (Note: this exclusion criterion is being applied retroactively via a documented audit, following surfacing of a single case of concurrent exposure. See 'Protocol Deviations and Quality Assurance' below.) Eligibility rationale: The prior protocol specified interpersonal loss (bereavement, divorce, relationship dissolution) within a 0 to 180 month window. Amendment 3 broadens this to any adverse life event documented by LTE. The LTE is a 12-item instrument designed specifically for depression research, with lifetime-version adaptations validated in multiple populations. Using LTE as the documentation instrument provides a defensible, research-standard definition of adverse life event exposure and removes the artificial narrowing to interpersonal losses alone.

What they're measuring

Change in PHQ-9 (Patient Health Questionnaire-9) Score

Timeframe: Baseline (T0) to post-treatment/end of wait (T2, approximately week 2)

Trial details

NCT IDNCT07490691

SponsorPainhunting LLP

Sponsor typeOTHER

Study typeINTERVENTIONAL

Primary completion2026-08-31

View on ClinicalTrials.gov More Loss-Related Depression trials