Exercise + Self-Compassion Intervention for Depression

This is a 10-week randomized parallel study assessing the effectiveness of exercise in reducing depressive symptoms among students with mild-to-moderate depression. This study has three treatment arms: exercise; exercise + self-compassion; exercise + behavioral coaching. Each participant will be invited to attend 3 supervised group-based sessions each week either virtually through Zoom or in-person at the Exercise and Health Psychology Lab for 10 weeks. Senior undergraduate Kinesiology students will facilitate a personalized exercise program adapted to the participant's abilities, teach participants how to exercise, and gauge exercise intensity in a safe manner. The CANMAT guidelines will be implemented, with the program consisting of supervised moderate-intensity exercise sessions lasting 30-minutes (plus 10-minutes for warm-up and cool-down), 3 times weekly, for a period of 10-weeks. Participants will start exercising at a low intensity and progressively increase until they are consistently exercising at a moderate intensity. The exercise intervention will integrate moderate intensity aerobic and resistance training activities while accounting for the physical abilities and interests of the individual participant and theh group.The exercise + psychoeducation groups will receive equal contact supplemental individual manualized strategies each session (+15-20 minutes) centered either on behaviour change strategies (i.e., action planning, implementation intentions, relapse prevention, and goal setting) or self-compassion strategies (i.e., mindfulness, self-directed kindness meditations, and writing tasks). The manualized psychoeducation sessions will be group-based with the trainer that is supervising the exercise sessions. Participants will fill out surveys before, after and three months following the intervention period.

Inclusion criteria

Informed of the nature of the study and have agreed to and are able to read, review, and sign the informed consent form. The informed consent document will be written in English; therefore, the volunteer must have the ability to read and communicate in English.

• Student participants 17 to 30 years of age, inclusive, at the time of screening.
• Available and able to attend 3x group-based exercise training sessions per week.
• Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 score of >5
• Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire score of <14
• Able to engage in physical activity as assessed by the PAR-Q
• For Virtual Intervention Only: access to reliable internet connection and computer with a camera for the purpose of the Zoom Video calls

Exclusion criteria

• Participant receives pharmacological (i.e. medications listed in list of prohibited medications document) or psychotherapy treatment for depression or anxiety
• Reports of suicide ideation (e.g., PHQ-9 item) and scores on the PHQ-9 >20 demonstrating severe depression
• Failed safety screening for exercise without physician clearance
• Participant initiates pharmacological or psychotherapy treatments for depression while in the study and/or participates in any other research that aims to target depression