Effectiveness of Group Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Exercise in the Management of Major Depressive Disorder: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Despite evidence in scientific literature indicating the effectiveness of both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and physical exercise in the management of major depressive disorder (MDD), few studies have directly compared them.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of group CBT, physical exercise, and only wait-listing to receive treatment-as-usual (TAU) in the management of MDD. The investigators hypothesize that participants with MDD assigned to the group CBT or exercise arms of the study will achieve superior outcomes compared with participants wait-listed to receive TAU only.

Enhancing peer support experience for patients discharged from acute psychiatric care: protocol for a randomised controlled pilot trial.

Introduction: This study will evaluate the effectiveness of an innovative peer support programme. The programme incorporates leadership training, mentorship, recognition and reward systems for peer support workers, and supportive/reminder text messaging for patients discharged from acute (hospital) care. We hypothesise that patients enrolled in the peer support system plus daily supportive/reminder text messages condition will achieve superior outcomes in comparison to other groups.