Treating major depressive disorder with an integrated mind-body intervention: Whole-body hyperthermia and cognitive behavioral therapy, a case report

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a critical health issue that is inadequately addressed with currently available treatments, indicating a need for novel treatment approaches. This case report describes a patient's outcomes after completing an integrated mind-body depression intervention that combined cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) administered by a clinician with whole-body hyperthermia (WBH) administered using an infrared sauna device. The patient, a 37-year-old adult male who identified as agender and Asian, completed eligibility screening and a baseline assessment that included a semi-structured clinical interview and self-report measures of mood and emotional health. The intervention included eight weekly 1-hour CBT sessions and eight weekly WBH sessions. Before each CBT session, the patient completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II). After the patient completed all intervention sessions, we re-assessed the patient's mood and cognitive and emotional health and collected verbal feedback about their treatment experience. At baseline, the patient met the criteria for diagnosis of MDD per the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, and they were not receiving any form of treatment. From initial contact to the final assessment (14 weeks), the patient evidenced a 25-point reduction on the BDI-II from a score of 28 to 3, reflecting a clinically meaningful decrease from severe depressive symptoms to remission. At the final assessment, the patient no longer met the criteria for MDD. For this patient, this relatively brief integrative depression treatment was both feasible and efficacious. The patient achieved depression remission in fewer than 14 weeks. These results warrant greater exploration into the potential benefits of this integrative depression treatment.