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The NCE emphasizes experimental design logic and threats to validity. A randomized controlled trial (RCT) with waitlist control (option B) maximizes internal validity by randomly assigning eligible clients to immediate CBT or waitlist, balancing confounds across groups. Pre- and post-intervention PHQ-9 scores allow inference about treatment effects while ensuring all participants ultimately receive the service (ethical advantage). Option A (single-group pre–post) is vulnerable to history, maturation, testing effects, and regression to the mean. Option C (posttest-only without control) cannot establish baseline equivalence or change. Option D provides rich description but weak causal inference. Best practices include power analysis, treatment fidelity monitoring, blinded assessment where feasible, intention-to-treat analysis, and reporting effect sizes and confidence intervals. Program evaluation should also track implementation outcomes (acceptability, feasibility, reach) and equity (differential outcomes by demographics) to inform iterative quality improvement and sustainability decisions.