Common mental disorders (CMDs) are endemic globally. The availability of evidence-based mental health interventions has grown rapidly, with many services focused on psychotherapy. Most psychotherapies require multiple sessions, resulting in lengthy waiting times due to limited provider availability. These delays can lead to higher morbidity, poorer adherence and less favourable outcomes.

Recent research indicates that single-session therapy (SST) can be as effective as multi-session approaches and offers cost savings. This pragmatic, prospective mixed-methods pilot cohort study assesses the uptake, feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness and preliminary clinical effectiveness of SST in individuals receiving the Friendship Bench intervention. The Friendship Bench is a task-shifting mental health intervention for individuals with low to moderate symptoms of CMDs.

We will conduct a pragmatic, prospective, mixed-methods pilot interventional cohort study involving 350 first-time clients of the Friendship Bench intervention in Harare and surrounding periurban areas. We will primarily explore the intervention’s feasibility, uptake, appropriateness and acceptability including the feasibility of a larger follow-up clinical trial. Secondary outcomes include changes in CMDs severity, depression and anxiety symptoms, social connectedness, functional status, hope, resilience, health-related quality of life and therapeutic alliance. Participants will be followed for 6 weeks, with data collected at baseline and at 2, 4 and 6 weeks postintervention time points. A qualitative component will explore participants’ perspectives and experiences with SST. Quantitative data will be analysed using descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis, Cox proportional hazards models and generalised mixed models with maximum likelihood estimation. Qualitative data will be analysed thematically.

Ethical approval was granted by the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe. Findings from this study will contribute to the evidence base for SST in the management of CMDs and may inform mental health service delivery in low-resource settings. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, social media platforms and policy briefs.

PACTR202605687485459

Depressed mood is a psychological state characterised by sadness or loss of interest in activities, is a common symptom that accompanies most major mental disorders. It is therefore reasonable to consider it as a transdiagnostic target, which when addressed, may improve the functioning and quality of life of persons with lived experience of mental disorders. However, there is limited understanding of the depressed mood as a transdiagnostic target across major mental disorders. Therefore, this scoping review aims to synthesise knowledge on depressed mood, its measurement and interventions among persons with anxiety and/or psychosis.

This scoping review followed Arksey and O'Malley’s framework. Peer-reviewed articles and grey literature published from January 1988 to April 2024 were searched in the following databases: Medline/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Africa-Wide Information, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, PsycINFO, SocINDEX, Humanities International Complete, Sabinet, Open Grey and Google Scholar. Articles were screened at title, abstract and full article levels. Data extracted were analysed using thematic analysis and reported following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines. We also consulted stakeholders such as lived experience experts, clinicians and researchers to contextualise our findings.

We screened 245 full articles out of the 4039 hits and included 28 articles in this review. Although depressed mood is conceptually different from clinical depression, the terms are used interchangeably in the literature. The prevalence of depressed mood in psychosis was 7.3–33.3%, with no prevalence studies specific to anxiety disorders. Commonly used outcome measures included Beck’s Depression Inventory (n=6) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (n=5). Psychosocial conservative interventions such as cognitive–behavioural therapy were the most common interventions. Other interventions, including yoga, pharmacotherapy and Ecology Momentary Interventions, were also reported. All interventions were reported to improve depressed mood, and most were implemented in high-income settings. Stakeholders, including lived experience experts, concurred on the importance of using depressed mood as a transdiagnostic target, viewing it as a ‘window’ for early identification and management of many common mental disorders.

There is a need to clarify the definition and diagnostic cut-off points on common outcome measures of depressed mood. There is also a need for increased research on depressed mood as a viable transdiagnostic target in anxiety and/or psychosis with a special focus on low-to-middle income countries.

Depressed mood is an important and prevalent transdiagnostic target with great promise for early management in anxiety and/or psychosis. Valid diagnostic and measurement tools are developing, and so are the targeted interventions in the context of anxiety and/or psychosis.