Major Depressive Disorder afflicts more than 300 million people worldwide and is the leading cause of life years lost to disability. Current treatments have important limitations in efficacy and, in the case of medication, substantial side-effects. There is thus a compelling need for additional effective, well-tolerated treatments. One such potential treatment is whole-body hyperthermia (WBH). The investigators hypothesize that WBH may be particularly effective in combination with cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), an established treatment for depression. This single-arm trial will pilot and optimize procedures for integrating WBH (4 bi -weekly sessions) with CBT (8 weekly sessions). This work holds important promise to improve treatment of depression and advance understanding of the role of integrated mind-body therapies for mood disorders.
This single-arm intervention trial administers up to 4 bi-weekly whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) sessions and 8 weekly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) sessions to adults aged 18 years or older with major depressive disorder (MDD).