The effect of prayer therapy on depression and anxiety

Completed

• Conditions: Emotional disorders; Mental and Behavioural Disorders

• Registration Number: ISRCTN03186168
• Lead Sponsor: Institute for Spirituality and Health (USA)

Brief Summary

Not available

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2013-11-14
• Last Update Posted: 13 January 2015

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 24

Inclusion Criteria

1. The subjects will be adults (male and female) between the ages of 18 and 65 who are depressed but not on medication
2. They will be willing to engage in Christian prayer and be without reservations or contraindications to fMRI scanning

Exclusion Criteria

1. All children, pregnant women, mentally impaired and those with physically incapacitating problems will be excluded
2. Individuals with other psychiatric disorders and those who have received professional psychotherapy or have been on antidepressants in the 3 months prior to study enrollment. Subjects with severe depression and/or suicidal ideation will be excluded and proper referral made.
3. Those who are unable to respond to the questions or would have difficulty maintaining a focus while responding to the questions during the scanning would also be excluded. Subjects will be allowed to engage in their usual private prayers, devotions and church-related activities. They will not be allowed to participate in any form of psychotherapy during the time period they are in prayer session or are wait-listed. This restraint is lifted for the time period between the completion of their prayers and the one-year follow-up.
4. Additionally, subjects who are unable to understand and follow the directions involved in the testing will be excluded

For the fMRI portion of this protocol, other exclusion criteria are:
1. Claustrophobia (this would make lying in the scanner very uncomfortable)
2. Pregnant
3. Contraindications to MRI: pacemaker, aneurysm clips, neurostimulators, cochlear implants, metal in eyes, steel worker, or other piercings and implants

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Brain changes resulting from prayer as documented through fMRI

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
1. Clients that meet the requirements of the study are measured for the severity of their depression utilizing the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) with 17 items. Potential subjects who are not on antidepressant or antianxiety medication and have a minimal score of 8 on the HDRS will qualify for the study. The Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scales (HARS) with 14 symptom-related questions will be used to test anxiety. <br>2. The Life Orienting Test (LOT) will be used to measure the effects of dispositional optimism on self-regulation in a variety of circumstances. It has shown construct validity with other studies demonstrating the effect of optimism health promotion in a variety of circumstances. <br>3. The Daily Spiritual Experience Scale (DSES) will use 16 questions to assess daily spiritual experiences in six domains