Final answer:
The student is conducting an efficacy study, which involves carefully screening participants and randomly assigning them to treatment or control groups to determine the effectiveness of psychotherapy for depression.
Step-by-step explanation:
The type of study being conducted by the student is an efficacy study.
Unlike effectiveness studies, which are conducted in real-world settings to assess the impact of a treatment on a diverse group of patients, efficacy studies are conducted under controlled conditions to determine if a treatment works in theory. In efficacy studies, researchers carefully screen potential participants to ensure they meet strict diagnostic criteria and randomly assign them to either a treatment or control group.
By doing so, researchers can isolate the specific effects of the treatment and assess its efficacy for the targeted condition, such as depression in this case.