Psychotherapies at a Glance: Consensus Guideline-Recommended Psychotherapies for Adults With Psychiatric Disorders.

Clinical decision making by psychiatrists and informed consent by patients require knowledge of evidence-based psychotherapies (EBPs) and their indications. However, many mental health professionals are not versed in the empirical literature on EBPs or the consensus guideline recommendations derived from this literature. The authors compared rigorous national consensus guidelines for EBP treatment of DSM-defined adult psychiatric disorders-derived from well-conducted randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses and from expert opinions from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada-to create the Psychotherapies-at-a-Glance tool. Recommended EBPs are cognitive-behavioral therapy, family therapy, contingency management, dialectical behavior therapy, eye movement desensitization reprocessing, interpersonal psychotherapy, mentalization-based treatment, motivational interviewing, peer support, problem-solving therapy, psychoeducation, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, and 12-step facilitation. The Psychotherapies-at-a-Glance tool summarizes the indications, rationales, and therapeutic tasks that characterize these differing psychotherapies and psychosocial treatments. The tool is intended for use in clinical teaching, treatment planning, and patient communications.

Skills and methods that work in psychotherapy: Observations and conclusions from the special issue.

We draw recommendations and conclusions from the articles presented in this special issue and the companion special section in Psychotherapy Research on evidence-based therapist skills and methods. For distal (end-of-treatment) outcome, 10 skills/methods were judged to be demonstrably effective (affirmation/validation, paradoxical interventions, homework, routine outcome monitoring, strength-based methods, emotional regulation, imagery rehearsal therapy and exposure relaxation and rescripting therapy for nightmares, meditation/mindfulness/acceptance, behavioral activation, cognitive restructuring) and four were probably effective (rupture repair, role induction, collaborative assessment methods, chairwork). For intermediate (postsession or midtreatment) outcome, one method was judged to be demonstrably effective (cognitive-experiential dreamwork) and two methods probably effective (paradoxical interventions, homework). For immediate (in-session) outcomes, five skills/methods were judged to be probably effective (in-dialog silences, extended silences, role induction, strength-based methods, and emotion regulation). For the rest of the immediate, intermediate, or distal outcomes for skills/methods, there was either no or insufficient research available upon which to base judgments. Possible harmful effects, diversity considerations, and research limitations are summarized. The article ends with training implications, therapeutic practices, and the formal conclusions of the interorganizational Task Force on Psychotherapy Skills and Methods that Work. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of Art and Reminiscence Therapy on Agitated Behaviors Among Older Adults With Dementia.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive degeneration and agitated behavior symptoms of dementia in older adults are the main causes of disability and inability and increase the cost of medical care. Agitated behavior symptoms of dementia are the main causes of early institutionalization and make caregivers exhausted. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of art therapy and reminiscence therapy on the alleviation of agitated behaviors in older adults with dementia. METHODS: An experimental research design with two experimental groups and one comparison group was conducted to examine the effects for each group on agitated behaviors. Participants were recruited from two dementia care centers in central and northern Taiwan. The study included 54 older individuals who met the sampling criteria and completed the data collection process. The participants were randomly allocated into the art therapy group (n = 24), the reminiscence therapy group (n = 22), and the comparison group (n = 8). The intervention consisted of 50-minute sessions conducted weekly for 12 weeks. Regular activities were continued in the comparison group. The structured questionnaires were completed, and observations of agitated behaviors were collected before the intervention and at 1 and 6 weeks after the intervention. RESULTS: Significant differences were found in agitated behavior symptoms at the three time points in the art therapy group, whereas reminiscence therapy was found to have had a clear and immediate effect on decreasing agitated behavior. The generalized estimating equation exchange model test revealed a significant and sustained, postintervention effect of art therapy on agitated behavior. In contrast, no significant and sustained effect on agitated behavior was observed in the reminiscence therapy group. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study support that art therapy may have a positive effect on dementia-associated agitated behaviors in institutionalized older adults. Reminiscence therapy activities conducted weekly for 50 minutes each session did not reach statistically significant implications. It is suggested that future studies consider conducting art and reminiscence therapies for a 16-week duration with two weekly sessions to evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy. The duration of follow-up should be extended as well in future studies.

[Opportunities to Implement Guideline Recommendations on Psychosocial Therapies within the Federal Participation Act (BTHG)]. / Chancen zur Umsetzung der Leitlinienempfehlungen zu psychosozialen Therapien im Rahmen des Bundesteilhabegesetzes (BTHG).

The development of treatment guidelines alone does not improve patient care. The implementation of guidelines depends on various conditions, including structural conditions. The update of the S3 guideline "Psychosocial therapies for severe mental illnesses" systematically describes very different psychosocial therapies and reviews their effectiveness. The implementation of the resulting recommendations, which are coordinated in a complex consensus process, is hampered by the structured social legislation in Germany. The present article shows to what extent the recommendations of the update of the S3 Guideline Psychosocial Therapies follow the Federal Participation Act (BTHG).

Is Online Treatment as Effective as In-Person Treatment?: Psychological Change in Two Relationship Skills Groups.

Psychotherapy has undergone a widespread change recently, with many interventions now available as wireless device apps or online courses. The current study compared the efficacy of an online program with a personal group treatment intervention. The in-person group (n = 37) attended a 6-day workshop called Tapping Deep Intimacy that focused on the development of interpersonal skills. The online group (n = 37) consumed to the same information in the form of a 12-week online course. The content of both courses was drawn from the curriculum for Whole Energy Lifestyle, which trains participants in 12 evidence-based interpersonal and stress-reduction skills designed to reduce emotional triggering and promote health. These include mindfulness, breathwork, meditation (EcoMeditation), heart coherence, Clinical Emotional Freedom Techniques, active listening, and qigong. In both groups, depression, anxiety, and relationship satisfaction were assessed pre, post, and at 1-year follow-up. Anxiety reduced in the in-person but not the online group. Significant improvements in depression (p < 0.001) were found in both groups, although sharper symptom declines were found in the in-person group. A 29% improvement in relationship satisfaction was found in both groups (p < 0.003), and both maintained their gains over time. Anxiety and depression symptoms were much higher in the in-person group pretest despite similar demographic characteristics, suggesting differences in the population that uses online courses. These preliminary findings suggest that while online programs may play a role in the development of stress-reduction and interpersonal skills, it cannot be assumed that they mirror the therapeutic efficacy of in-person treatment in every dimension.

Psychological Therapy for Centralized Pain: An Integrative Assessment and Treatment Model.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic pain is a significant health problem that is increasing in prevalence, and advances in treatment are needed. METHODS: We briefly review the leading evidence-based psychological therapies for chronic pain-cognitive-behavioral and acceptance/mindfulness-based therapies-and examine several limitations and missing perspectives of these approaches. We review six lesser-known interventions that address these limitations, and we describe our integrative model for psychological assessment and treatment of centralized pain. We present a typical patient and describe how we apply this approach, along with challenges to its implementation and possible solutions to these challenges. RESULTS: Greater pain treatment efficacy may be possible if clinicians: (a) distinguish patients with primarily centralized (i.e., somatoform or nociplastic) pain from those with primarily peripheral (nociceptive, inflammatory, or neuropathic) pain; (b) acknowledge the capacity of the brain not only to modulate pain but also generate as well as attenuate or eliminate centralized pain; (c) consider the powerful role that adverse life experiences and psychological conflicts play in centralized pain; and (d) integrate emotional processing and interpersonal changes into treatment. Our integrative treatment involves delivering a progression of interventions, as needed, to achieve pain reduction: tailored pain neuroscience education, cognitive and mindfulness skills to decrease the pain danger alarm mechanism, behavioral engagement in avoided painful and other feared activities, emotional awareness and expression to reverse emotional avoidance and overcome trauma or psychological conflict, and adaptive communication to decrease interpersonal stress. CONCLUSIONS: This integrative assessment and treatment model has the potential to substantially reduce and sometimes eliminate centralized pain by changing the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and interpersonal processes that trigger and maintain centralized pain.

Non-pharmacological therapies for inflammatory bowel disease: Recommendations for self-care and physician guidance.

We performed a scoping review on sought-after complementary therapies for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), specifically diet, physical activity and exercise (PA/E), and psychotherapy. We aim to update patients with IBD on therapies for self-care and provide physicians with guidance on how to direct their patients for the management of IBD. A search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PUBMED was completed in Sept 2016. Studies on diet, PA/E, or psychotherapy in patients with IBD were included. Medical Subject Heading terms and Boolean operators were used. The search was limited to full-text English articles describing an adult population. This review included 67 studies: Diet (n = 19); PA/E (n = 19); and psychotherapy (n = 29). We have made the following recommendations: (1) Diet: Consumption of diets rich in vegetables, fruit and soluble fiber may be beneficial in IBD. A trial of a low FODMAP diet can be considered in those patients with functional gastrointestinal symptoms. Restrictive diets are lacking in evidence and should be avoided; (2) PA/E: Regular low-moderate intensity activity, including cardiovascular and resistance exercise, has been shown to improve quality of life (QOL) and may improve inflammation; and (3) psychotherapy: Therapies such as cognitive-behavioural interventions, mindfulness, hypnosis, and stress management have been shown to improve QOL, but evidence is limited on their impact on anxiety, depression, and disease activity. Overall, these complementary therapies are promising and should be used to treat patients with IBD from a more holistic perspective.

Animal-Assisted Therapy for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: Lessons from "Case Reports" in Media Stories.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can follow war trauma, sexual abuse, other traumas, and even be experienced by commanders for the PTSD of their subordinates. Medications and counseling are sometimes not effective, so new treatments are needed. Some years ago, I suggested that animal-assisted therapy (AAT) (pet therapy) might be beneficial for PTSD. A large randomized controlled trial is underway of canine-assisted therapy for PTSD. Randomized controlled trials are most useful in assessing the efficacy of a medical intervention as these trials control for known and unknown biases. However, due to their very nature and rigorous requirements, knowledge gained from randomized controlled trials may need to be supplemented from other kinds of studies. Here, I note that media reports of AAT for PTSD may effectively function as case reports and suggest further studies: For PTSD, these demonstrate that (1) AAT can be dramatically effective in improving PTSD symptoms; (2) there is the potential for benefit from AAT by multiple different animals besides canines for PTSD; and (3) AAT may have a role in preventing suicide in patients with PTSD.

A Literature Review of Alternative Therapies for Postpartum Depression.

Postpartum depression is a debilitating disorder that requires greater awareness and treatment. Depending on severity of symptoms, standard treatment calls for individual psychotherapy and medication. Although postpartum depression can lead to negative health outcomes for women and their offspring, numerous barriers prevent women from receiving appropriate care. A review of the literature shows that nontraditional modes of psychotherapy dominate recent studies, whereas data for other complementary options are severely lacking. Further research is needed to help identify cost-effective alternative therapies for treating postpartum depression. Combined with prevention and screening, treatment options that suit women's varied situations and preferences must be explored to increase reception and adherence to treatment and, ultimately, to improve outcomes.

[On the legalization debate of non-medical cannabis consumption : Position paper of the German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics]. / Zur Legalisierungsdebatte des nichtmedizinischen Cannabiskonsums : DGPPN-Positionspapier.

Calls are increasing for the legalization of cannabis. Some legal experts, various politicians, political parties and associations are demanding a change in drug policy. The legalization debate is lively and receiving wide coverage in the media. The German Association for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics (DGPPN) comments on the most important questions from a medical scientific perspective: can cannabis consumption trigger mental illnesses, what consequences would legalization have for the healthcare system and where is more research needed?

The Role of Practitioner Resilience and Mindfulness in Effective Practice: A Practice-Based Feasibility Study.

A growing body of literature attests to the existence of therapist effects with little explanation of this phenomenon. This study therefore investigated the role of resilience and mindfulness as factors related to practitioner wellbeing and associated effective practice. Data comprised practitioners (n = 37) and their patient outcome data (n = 4980) conducted within a stepped care model of service delivery. Analyses employed benchmarking and multilevel modeling to identify more and less effective practitioners via yoking of therapist factors and nested patient outcomes. A therapist effect of 6.7 % was identified based on patient depression (PHQ-9) outcome scores. More effective practitioners compared to less effective practitioners displayed significantly higher levels of mindfulness as well as resilience and mindfulness combined. Implications for policy, research and practice are discussed.

Effective Practices in the Treatment of Trauma in Children and Adolescents: From Guidelines to Organizational Practices.

Exposure to traumatic events happens at an alarming rate for children and adolescents in the United States. If left unaddressed, these youth have a high risk of growing up with additional health and mental health problems. In this article the authors review three key aspects of helping youth heal from the symptoms of experiencing a traumatic event; (1) recommended guidelines, (2) specific treatments, and (3) the Trauma-Informed Care Framework. Eleven recommendations from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry are discussed as they relate to effective practices in the treatment of trauma in children and adolescents. Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy and child-parent psychotherapy are also explored as the two specific interventions that have the most empirical support for treatment in children and adolescents. Finally, the tenets of a Trauma-Informed Care Framework are presented along with a review of how well these have been applied in youth serving organizations.

[Guideline-adherent inpatient psychiatric psychotherapeutic treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder : Normative definition of personnel requirements]. / Leitliniengerechte stationäre psychiatrisch-psychotherapeutische Behandlung der Zwangsstörung : Normative Personalbedarfsermittlung.

BACKGROUND: Guideline-oriented inpatient psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment of patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an important part of the care available for these patients. It may not be adequately reflected in the current personnel resources available according to the German psychiatry personnel regulation (Psych-PV). OBJECTIVES: The goal of this work was to assess the personnel resources necessary for a guideline-oriented inpatient psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment of patients with OCD and compare the necessary resources with the resources available according to Psych-PV. METHODS: Based on the German national guidelines for OCD and a meta-analysis on treatment intensity, we formulated a normative weekly treatment plan. Based on this plan we calculated the necessary personnel resources and compared these with the resources available according to Psych-PV category A1 (standard care). RESULTS: The weekly treatment time for a guideline-oriented inpatient psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment of patients with OCD is 23.5 h per week. This corresponds to a weekly personnel requirement of 20.9 h. This requirement is only partly reflected in the Psych-PV (17.3 h, 82.8 %). The coverage of personnel resources by Psych-PV is even lower for psychotherapy provided by psychiatrist and psychologists (38.3 %, i. e. 183 min in the normative plan versus 70 min in Psych-PV). CONCLUSIONS: The current paper shows that the personal resources required for a guideline-oriented inpatient psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment of patients with OCD is not adequately reflected in the German psychiatry personnel regulation (Psych-PV). The actual shortage may be underestimated in our paper.

Community-based intervention for depression management at the primary care level in Ha Nam Province, Vietnam: a cluster-randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention including psychoeducation and yoga for depression management at the primary healthcare level in one district in the Hà Nam province, Vietnam. METHOD: The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was used for depression screening and follow-up. Screened patients were further diagnosed with the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Diagnostic Interview, by a trained general doctor. A linear regression model, adjusted for age, gender and baseline PHQ-9 score was used to assess whether the intervention leads to decreased depression severity compared to standard care in the control communes. RESULTS: Both groups had similar PHQ-9 scores at baseline. The intervention group had on average significantly lower PHQ-9 scores after the intervention than the control group. Almost half of the patients in the intervention group recovered from depression, whereas nobody did in the control group. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that the intervention can be more effective than standard care in treating depression. The mean change of the PHQ-9 score after the intervention is deemed to be of clinical relevance.

Hipnosis Clínica: Evaluación de su Eficacia y Calidad de la Investigación en Medicina / Clinical Hypnosis: Assessment of its Effectiveness and the Quality of the Investigation of it in Medicine

Introducción: La utilización de la hipnosis para condiciones médicas es muy antigua, ha progresado con el paso del tiempo a partir de estudios cada vez mejor diseñados, razón por la que se considera importante el conocimiento de su valor terapéutico. Objetivo: Evaluar la calidad de la investigación sobre la eficacia de la hipnosis clínica en Medicina, así como sistematizar su evidencia empírica en este campo. Método: En este trabajo se revisaron estudios publicados hasta el 2015. Los criterios para la selección de los estudios fueron los de Chambless y Hollon de 1998 y los de Nathan y Gorman (1998, 2015). Las bases de datos consultadas fueron: PubMed, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, Psyke y Psicodoc. Resultados: La hipnosis se considera eficaz como coadyuvante a la terapia cognitivo-comportamental para varias condiciones médicas, como coadyuvante es probablemente eficaz en procederes oncológicos y odontológicos y una intervención prometedora en la diabetes y el virus del papiloma humano. Desde el 2009 hasta el 2015se han producido un incremento de estudios, aunque como tendencia la calidad de las investigaciones no ha mejorado, y la inclusión de la hipnosis en guías de intervención no está lo suficientemente extendida. Conclusiones: Se considera importante la realización de futuros estudios con metodologías más rigurosas, sobre todo en áreas de la medicina que todavía no cuentan con estudios de suficiente calidad, así como, la formación de los profesionales de la salud en su manejo y la inclusión de la hipnosis en protocolos médicos en las áreas donde hay suficiente evidencia(AU)

Introduction: The use of hypnosis for medical conditions is very old, and it has progressed with the time from studies better and better designed. Thats why, it is considered important the knowledge of its therapeutic value. Objective: Assess the quality of the investigation about the effectiveness of clinical hypnosis in Medicine, and systematize its empirical evidence in this field. Methods: Studies published up to 2015 were reviewed in this paper. Chambless and Hollons (1998) and Nathan and Gormans (1998, 2015) criteria were taken into account for the selection of the studies. PubMed, PsycInfo, PsycArticles, Psyke and Psicodoc were the database consulted.Results: Hypnosis is considered effective as something that helps cognitive-behavioral therapy for several medical conditions. It is probably effective in oncological and odontological procedures, and a promising intervention in diabetes and the human papilloma virus. Since 2009 till 2015 there has been an increase of studies about hypnosis, however as a tendency, the quality of the investigations has not improved, and the inclusion of it in intervention guides is not sufficiently extended. Conclusions: Future studies using more thorough methodology, above all in some fields of Medicine that do not have studies of good quality yet, as well as the training of health professionals in the management of hypnosis, and the inclusion of it in medical protocols in areas where there is enough evidence, are considered very important(AU)

[Structural quality in inpatient and daycare child and adolescent psychiatry- indicators for planning future staff ratios for the era following the Psychiatry Personnel Act]. / Strukturqualität in der stationären und teilstationären Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie.

The German Psychiatry Personnel Act, which went into effect in 1990, has led to a decrease in the number of child and adolescent psychiatry inpatient beds, to a decrease in the length of stay, and to an increase in inpatient psychotherapy. Today, this act is outdated~ for a number of reasons, such as changes in the morbidity of the population, the rising number of emergencies, and new professional standards such as documentation. In addition, new legal provisions and conventions (like the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child) necessitate a complete reevaluation. Child and adolescent psychiatry needs a normative act to enable the necessary implementation. Many different rationales are available to support the debate.

The role of psychotherapy in integrated care.

The current emphasis on integrated psychiatric and medical care for people with mental illnesses raises hopes for more favorable clinical outcomes as well as concerns about the quality of the actual care being delivered. The author writes from the perspective of a long career as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst in a full service medical building in which communication and, at times, collaboration between mental health and general health providers yielded significant benefits to patients. Psychotherapy played a major role in these favorable outcomes, as did accessibility to general medical services when needed and working relationships between physicians of different specialties. However, conditions in current integrated systems pose seemingly insurmountable obstacles to offering full service psychiatric care. The overwhelming disproportion between the numbers of patients in serious need and the available psychiatric resources creates wrenching clinical dilemmas. The hard-nosed administrative approaches to the challenge appear to leave out the factors of human relationships and the conditions necessary for effective psychotherapy beyond simple triage and ultra-brief supportive therapy in crises. Where it is possible for psychiatrists to work closely with other physicians, certain conditions are necessary to maintain the integrity of the psychotherapeutic relationship and the psychiatrist's psychotherapeutic skills.

Empirically supported psychological treatments: the challenge of evaluating clinical innovations.

Clear and transparent standards are required to establish whether a therapeutic method is "evidence based." Even when research demonstrates a method to be efficacious, it may not become available to patients who could benefit from it, a phenomenon known as the "translational gap." Only 30% of therapies cross the gap, and the lag between empirical validation and clinical implementation averages 17 years. To address these problems, Division 12 of the American Psychological Association published a set of standards for "empirically supported treatments" in the mid-1990s that allows the assessment of clinical modalities. This article reviews these criteria, identifies their strengths, and discusses their impact on the translational gap, using the development of a clinical innovation called Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) as a case study. Twelve specific recommendations for updates of the Division 12 criteria are made based on lessons garnered from the adoption of EFT within the clinical community. These recommendations would shorten the cycle from the research setting to clinical practice, increase transparency, incorporate recent scientific advances, and enhance the capacity for succinct comparisons among treatments.