Evaluation of a standardized posttraumatic stress disorder treatment framework in routine mental health care: Effectiveness and predictors of treatment outcome in a consecutive sample.

The primary aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of standardized care package (CP) treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in a Danish sample of adult psychiatric outpatients (N = 948). Secondary aims were to identify baseline predictors of treatment outcomes and investigate between-group differences in outcomes with regard to sex and treatment modality (i.e., group vs. individual therapy). The naturalistic, nonrandomized study followed a pre-post design. Patient data from five psychiatric outpatient clinics were collected between March 2011 and November 2017. Data were drawn from self-report questionnaires (i.e., SCL-90-R, WHO-5, BHS) and therapist-reported measures (i.e., GAF-S, GAF-F) administered at baseline and posttreatment. Between-group effects for sex and therapy modality (group vs. individual) were analyzed using analyses of variance, and possible predictors of outcomes were selected through LASSO regression and analyzed via hierarchical regression. Pre-post effects were small to moderate, ds = 0.39-0.69. No differences emerged regarding treatment modality, but women had significantly better outcomes than men. Aside from sex, only baseline symptom severity predicted outcomes. The effectiveness of the CP treatment was generally limited, indicating the need to implement improved therapeutic practices, such as the use of evidence-based treatments, and to provide better training to mental health clinicians. The findings underscore the need for further comparisons of group and individual treatment modalities using evidence-based therapies as well as the need to investigate factors that may affect treatment outcome.

Group rumination-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) v. group CBT for depression: phase II trial.

BACKGROUND: Although cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is an effective treatment for depression, less than half of patients achieve satisfactory symptom reduction during treatment. Targeting known psychopathological processes such as rumination may increase treatment efficacy. The aim of this study was to test whether adding group rumination-focused CBT (RFCBT) that explicitly targets rumination to routine medical management is superior to adding group CBT to routine medical management in treating major depression. METHODS: A total of 131 outpatients with major depression were randomly allocated to 12 sessions group RFCBT v. group CBT, each in addition to routine medical management. The primary outcome was observer-rated symptoms of depression at the end of treatment measured on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. Secondary outcomes were rumination at post-treatment and depressive symptoms at 6 months follow-up (Trial registered: NCT02278224). RESULTS: RFCBT significantly improved observer-rated depressive symptoms (Cohen's d 0.38; 95% CI 0.03-0.73) relative to group CBT at post-treatment on the primary outcome. No post-treatment differences were found in rumination or in depressive symptoms at 6 months follow-up, although these secondary analyses may have been underpowered. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first randomized controlled trial providing evidence of benefits of RFCBT in major depression compared with CBT. Group RFCBT may be a beneficial alternative to group CBT for major depression.

The Reliable Change Index (RCI) of the WHO-5 in primary prevention of mental disorders. A measurement-based pilot study in positive psychiatry.

INTRODUCTION: Primary prevention of mental disorders is a major issue in positive psychiatry. Adjustment disorder is one of the very few discrete mental disorders linked to an etiological factor, namely psychosocial stressors given rise to a maladaptive reaction with a course of symptoms vanishing with the removal of the stressor. We have focused on a measurement-based method to prevent the development of an adjustment disorder. AIM: The aim of this study has been to analyze from an ongoing Worklife Barometer Survey in which the World Health Organization Well-Being Scale (WHO-5) has been applied to prevent distress leading to an adjustment disorder. METHODS: Persons identified with a decrease of 15 points in their repeatedly WHO-5 ratings over three months were through a brief psychological intervention by experienced psychologists. The Reliable Change Index (RCI) was used to determine the clinically meaningful change in the WHO-5 ratings. RESULTS: Within the group who received the psychological intervention (N = 1338), 35% of the persons were identified by the RCI analysis to have developed a clinically reliable change in the WHO-5 at the time of the intervention. The remaining 65% of the persons obtained changes in the WHO-5 which might be considered as spontaneous fluctuations. In the month after the intervention, the persons with a clinically reliable change in the WHO-5 were restored. CONCLUSION: In this measurement-based pilot study, the repeatedly WHO-5 ratings identified a group of persons with a clinically reliable change in WHO-5 and a clinically significant improvement after a brief psychological intervention.

Rumination-focused cognitive behaviour therapy vs. cognitive behaviour therapy for depression: study protocol for a randomised controlled superiority trial.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive behavioural therapy is an effective treatment for depression. However, one third of the patients do not respond satisfactorily, and relapse rates of around 30 % within the first post-treatment year were reported in a recent meta-analysis. In total, 30-50 % of remitted patients present with residual symptoms by the end of treatment. A common residual symptom is rumination, a process of recurrent negative thinking and dwelling on negative affect. Rumination has been demonstrated as a major factor in vulnerability to depression, predicting the onset, severity, and duration of future depression. Rumination-focused cognitive behavioural therapy is a psychotherapeutic treatment targeting rumination. Because rumination plays a major role in the initiation and maintenance of depression, targeting rumination with rumination-focused cognitive behavioural therapy may be more effective in treating depression and reducing relapse than standard cognitive behavioural therapy. METHOD/DESIGN: This study is a two-arm pragmatic randomised controlled superiority trial comparing the effectiveness of group-based rumination-focused cognitive behaviour therapy with the effectiveness of group-based cognitive behavioural therapy for treatment of depression. One hundred twenty-eight patients with depression will be recruited from and given treatment in an outpatient service at a psychiatric hospital in Denmark. Our primary outcome will be severity of depressive symptoms (Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression) at completion of treatment. Secondary outcomes will be level of rumination, worry, anxiety, quality of life, behavioural activation, experimental measures of cognitive flexibility, and emotional attentional bias. A 6-month follow-up is planned and will include the primary outcome measure and assessment of relapse. DISCUSSION: The clinical outcome of this trial may guide clinicians to decide on the merits of including rumination-focused cognitive behavioural therapy in the treatment of depression in outpatient services. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02278224 , registered 28 Oct. 2014.