A randomized controlled trial examining the impact of individual trauma-focused therapy for individuals receiving group treatment for depression.

OBJECTIVES: Adverse life events are associated with increased likelihood of depression and poorer prognosis. Trauma-focused treatments (TFT) appear to be effective in decreasing comorbid depressive symptoms. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a TFT on the memories of aversive events for individuals with a primary diagnosis of depression. METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 49 participants recruited from a 10-day outpatient group programme. All participants showed symptoms of depression with a subgroup (80%) meeting the DSM-5 criteria for a major depressive episode. Participants received treatment as usual (TAU); three additional individual trauma-focused sessions; or three additional individual assertiveness training sessions. Participants were assessed with regards to depression diagnosis and related symptoms. RESULTS: For participants with a major depressive episode, the addition of trauma-focused sessions significantly increased the likelihood of remission when compared to TAU, or additional assertiveness training. While no significant treatment difference was noted in depressive symptom change post-treatment, six weeks after treatment those who received an adjunct treatment were more likely to maintain treatment gains than those who received TAU. Furthermore, at 12-week follow-up, participants who received a TFT reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms than those who received assertiveness training. CONCLUSIONS: While differences in outcomes were minimal immediately post-treatment, differences among treatment groups increased over time. Thus, as few as three additional TFT sessions may impact positively on symptom change for people completing a group programme for the treatment of depression. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Depression is the greatest cause of disability worldwide. Adverse experiences are linked with an increased likelihood of depression, more severe symptoms and poor treatment outcomes following evidence-based interventions. As few as three trauma-focused sessions can improve treatment outcomes in terms of depression diagnosis and related symptoms for individuals receiving group cognitive behavioural therapy.

Differences between Men and Women Regarding Early Maladaptive Schemas in an Australian Adult Alcohol Dependent Clinical Sample.

BACKGROUND: Recent research indicates that there are widespread differences between men and women's Early Maladaptive Schemas (EMSs) in alcohol dependent populations. This study examined this claim. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine differences between men and women's EMSs in an Australian clinical sample who had sought treatment specifically for alcohol dependence. METHODS: A total of 111 men and 114 women completed the Young Schema Questionnaire-Long Form (YSQ-L3) between 2012 and 2015 in order to assess them on 18 EMSs. RESULTS: Despite previous findings suggesting that women report higher levels across a number of EMSs, the strongest evidence pointed to women scoring significantly higher than men on the EMS of self-sacrifice (the tendency to excessively help others whilst continually sacrificing one's own needs). Smaller differences between men and women were noted for the subjugation and failure EMSs. Conclusions/Importance: With the exception regarding the finding that woman scored higher on the self-sacrifice EMS than men, the homogeneity of the remaining EMS scores across men and women found in this study support the use of inter-gender group Schema Therapy (ST) with alcohol-dependent adults in Australia.