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Article History

Received: 8 October 2025

Accepted: 23 December 2025

First Online: 9 January 2026

Declarations

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: The investigation was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the Finnish Regional Committee for Medical and Health Research Ethics, (HUS) after thorough peer-review process and documentation. Approval reference HUS 391/2021. Adolescents diagnosed with major depressive disorder (MDD), with a Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) score of 16 or higher, and aged between 13 and 17 years are eligible for inclusion in the study. Information about dance movement therapy (DMT) and the purpose of the trial is provided, and participants are invited to join the study. It is explained that DMT will be added to their usual treatment, but participants will be randomly assigned either to the DMT group or to the usual care group. Participants are informed that they will need to complete a questionnaire after signing the consent form to participate, as well as additional questionnaires over the next 6 months. No financial compensation will be provided for participation. It is explained that joining the study requires some effort, but it is unlikely to cause any significant discomfort.Information is provided regarding data usage and the duty of confidentiality: all information will be treated without names, personal identification numbers, or other directly recognizable information, and a code connects personal information to data. Only a few authorized administrative personnel and researchers have access to the list of names to merge data from different questionnaires. Participation in the study is voluntary, and consent may be withdrawn at any time without providing a reason. This decision will not affect further participation in usual care treatment. Contact information for the researcher is also provided.Consent to participate will be obtained from the participants and their parents or legal guardians. Patients who are willing to participate will sign a written informed consent form themselves, and one parent or caretaker will sign a separate consent form. If the other parent is not present with the patient, information about the trial will be provided orally by a family member. Alternatively, an information sheet can be sent to the other parent by the researcher.Participants randomized to the control group were offered the opportunity to attend another dance-movement therapy (DMT) group after a 6-month follow-up period.

: Not applicable.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.