Stress Management and Meditative Movements for Asian Americans With Depression and Physical Symptoms

Inclusion criteria

• Self-identify as being of Asian ethnicity
• English language proficiency
• Be ≥18 years of age
• Satisfy DSM-5 criteria for MDD prior to the initiation of the study intervention, as determined by a clinical interview conducted by the Principal Investigator (PI) during screening using DSM-5 diagnostic criteria.
• A baseline of the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Depression score ≥ 16
• A baseline score of PHQ-15 ≥10
• Have not had Tai Chi/Qigong training/practice or other forms of mind-body intervention (e.g. yoga, mindfulness training, muscle relaxation training, etc) more than once a week in the past 3 months
• A total score 24 or higher in Mini-Mental Status Examination for cognitive ability (if the participant endorses a history of cognitive impairment).
• Willing to keep any psychiatric medications and psychotherapy stable throughout the course of the study (from Week 0 baseline to Week 12 Follow-up)
• Have access to a device (i.e., smartphone, iPad, personal computer) and a stable network to attend the online group sessions
• Ability to perform daily physical activity

Exclusion criteria

• Have a primary psychiatric diagnosis other than MDD
• Any history of psychosis, mania, or impulsivity and difficulty relating to people and judged by the clinician not appropriate for group intervention
• Active eating disorder or substance use disorder within the last 6 months
• Any relevant medical conditions that may be the medical basis of depression including thyroid diseases, epilepsy, history of an abnormal EEG, severe head trauma, or stroke
• Have serious uncontrolled medical conditions (e.g. poorly controlled diabetes, severe congestive heart failure), or other medical conditions that in the opinion of the investigators represents a risk to the subject, including presence of a pacemaker, cardiac arrhythmia, fever, weakness and hypotension, or vagal nerve stimulator
• current active suicidal or self-injurious potential (i.e., PHQ-9 item 9 ≥1 and/or a positive response to C-SSRS screener items 3, 4, 5, or 6), and assessed by the clinician necessitating immediate treatment
• Participant who are or who plan to receive confounding treatments (including treatment of endocrinopathies): use of antidepressants, complementary and alternative medical (CAM) treatments thought to have beneficial effects on mood, including St. John's Wort, S-Adenosyl methionine (SAMe), omega-3 fatty acids, light therapy, conventional psychotherapy, mind-body interventions (e.g. Qigong, mindfulness training, muscle relaxation training, etc.)
• Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) during the last year as these patients are often among the more refractory and are not optimal candidates for CAM
• History of refractory to treatment with ≥3 failed antidepressant trials in current depressive episode
• Participated in other depression-related clinical trials within the past 3 months
• Antidepressant or psychiatric medications that are initiated less than 8 weeks or a dose change less than 4 weeks prior to screening visit
• Psychotherapy that has been initiated within the past 3 months