Looking for people with depression

We are interested in developing ways to improve psychological health and wellbeing. If you experience depression and would like to volunteer to be part of our participant pool, then we would like to hear from you!

What we are trying to find out:

Depression is a very common emotional difficulty, with up to 20-30% of people experiencing a major depressive episode at some time in their life. In our research, we aim to improve our understanding of depression and anxiety so that we can develop better psychological treatments.

In particular, we are currently carrying out a series of studies to investigate different memory processes and how they work, and sometimes don’t work, in people with depression. The studies look at memory for words and pictures and the way people remember personal events in their lives. A special focus of these studies is to look at memory for emotional material.

We know that the way people with depression and anxiety remember things can be different to how other people remember things and to how they themselves remember things when they are not feeling depressed and anxious. We believe that these memory differences contribute to people’s feelings of depression and anxiety. We therefore want to find out more about these processes so that we can find ways to change them in order to help people suffering from depression and anxiety to feel better.

What participation involves:

Our studies generally involve generating memories of past events, engaging in imagination, word and picture tasks, and doing some activities on the computer. Some of our studies involve as little as a single 1-hour time commitment, whereas others can involve multiple sessions over a few weeks.

Please note that you are not obligated to participate or continue with any particular study if you do not wish to. All the information that you provide will remain confidential, and you will be reimbursed for your time.

Am I eligible to participate?

If you have been diagnosed with depression, or experience prolonged periods of low mood, you may be eligible to participate (even if you are not currently experiencing mood difficulties). We will verify your eligibility prior to your participation by asking you a series of questions about difficulties you may have had in the past.

How to volunteer:

If you would like to volunteer or for further information please contact the research programme coordinator, Dr Caitlin Hitchcock on 01223 273744 or email: clinicalresearch@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk.