Painhunting Therapy for Event Related Depression

This pilot randomized controlled trial evaluates the efficacy of Painhunting therapy, a brief structured psychotherapy, for adults with depressive symptoms following adverse life events in Kazakhstan. Eighty-four participants with a history of at least one adverse life event documented by the List of Threatening Experiences (LTE, lifetime version) and a baseline PHQ-9 score of 10 or greater were randomized 1:1 to immediate treatment or a waitlist control. The intervention uses an adaptive treat-to-target design: all treatment-arm participants receive three mandatory individual sessions, with up to three additional sessions (maximum six total) for those meeting pre-specified continuation criteria at the midpoint. The primary outcome is depressive symptom severity measured by the PHQ-9 at Time 2 (2 weeks post-randomization). Recruitment closed on April 14, 2026.