Exploring associations among baseline emotion regulation and change in relationship satisfaction among couples in a randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused therapy compared to usual care.

BACKGROUND: Data from a two-arm randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused therapy (EFT) compared to usual care were used to examine whether baseline emotion regulation influences relationship satisfaction for female and male partners. This is clinically relevant as clinicians have debated whether clients' initial emotion regulation skills predict positive outcomes in EFT. METHODS: Dyadic multilevel modeling was used to determine whether baseline emotion regulation predicted both initial levels and change in relationship satisfaction and whether that relationship differed by treatment group (i.e., EFT or usual care). RESULTS: Baseline emotion regulation difficulties were associated with lower initial relationship satisfaction. However, baseline emotion regulation difficulties were not associated with change in relationship satisfaction over the course of treatment and this relationship did not differ by treatment group. CONCLUSIONS: Results demonstrate that partners with diverse presentations of emotion regulation at baseline may benefit from couple therapy.

Exploring the effectiveness of emotionally focused therapy for depressive symptoms and relationship distress among couples in Taiwan: A single-arm pragmatic trial.

This is the first study to explore the effectiveness of emotionally focused couple therapy (EFT) for depressive symptoms and relationship distress among couples in Taiwan. This one-arm pragmatic trial assessed the clinical outcomes of 17 couples using multilevel modeling to investigate changes in depressive symptoms and relationship distress throughout treatment. Over half of the participants were moderately depressed and moderately distressed at baseline. Multilevel models revealed decreased depressive symptoms over time, with a small increase toward the end of treatment. However, no significant changes were observed in relationship distress over time. The study was limited by the low "dose" of EFT (M = 7 sessions) received by participants and the small sample size (n = 17). A comprehensive discussion of the findings from a cultural perspective was provided. Future research is needed to further examine the effectiveness of EFT for couples in Taiwan and Asia.

Session-to-session bidirectional associations of alliance with depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction.

The relationship between therapeutic alliance and treatment outcomes is one of the most widely studied topics in psychotherapy research. Research has primarily considered a unidirectional model whereby alliance predicts outcomes, which implies that building alliance early in therapy results in later symptom improvement and ignores the possibility that early symptom improvement could also subsequently lead to improved alliance. This study explored the bidirectional associations of alliance and outcomes session-to-session for 15 sessions among a sample of 24 couples randomized to emotionally focused therapy or treatment as usual for depression and relationship dissatisfaction. Multilevel models tested associations between the prior week's alliance and the following week's clinical outcomes (i.e., depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction) and the prior week's clinical outcomes with the following week's alliance. Findings indicated that the prior week's alliance was associated with the following week's relationship satisfaction, but not depressive symptoms, when controlling for the prior week's depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction in each respective model. In addition, the prior week's depressive symptoms and relationship satisfaction were both associated with the following week's alliance, when controlling for the prior week's alliance. Only one of these associations differed by sex: previous week's higher relationship satisfaction was associated with higher therapeutic alliance the following week for males than females. These bidirectional associations did not differ by treatment condition. This study contributes to the emerging empirical support suggesting bidirectionality among alliance and treatment outcomes.

The therapeutic alliance in couple therapy: Patterns by treatment and sex in a randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused therapy and treatment as usual.

The formation and development of the therapeutic alliance in couple therapy is a complex process and a key contributor to positive treatment outcomes. This study explored differences in trajectories of therapeutic alliance by sex and treatment condition among 24 couples randomized to receive Emotionally Focused Therapy or treatment as usual. The results identified a curvilinear growth pattern for alliance across both treatment groups. Female partners reported higher alliance than male partners after the first session across treatment groups, and female partners receiving Emotionally Focused Therapy reported higher initial alliance than female partners receiving treatment as usual. The rates of change for alliance did not differ by sex or treatment condition. The implications of the change pattern and differences in alliance formation by sex and treatment are discussed.

Recruitment strategies in couple intervention studies: A systematic review of recruitment methods and sample characteristics in the United States from 2015 to 2020.

Including diverse participants in couple intervention studies is critical for developing an evidence base that informs best practices for all potential clients. Research has shown that subgroups of clients respond differently to different interventions and that interventions that have been adapted to fit the needs of a given population are more effective than non-adapted interventions. Unfortunately, couple intervention samples often exclude participants with marginalized identities and culturally adapted couple intervention research is limited. The lack of information about best practices for diverse client subgroups perpetuates mental and relational health disparities. We conducted a systematic review to examine recruitment strategies and sampling characteristics of diverse races/ethnicities, incomes, ages, and sexual identities. We reviewed articles published between January 2015 and December 2020. Articles were eligible for inclusion in our review if they implemented an intervention with couples in the United States. Of 4054 articles identified, 54 articles were eligible for our review. Findings suggest that couple intervention studies lack diversity across multiple identity domains (i.e., races/ethnicities, incomes, ages, and sexual identities). Further, descriptions of recruitment strategies are often vague, limiting opportunities to better understand methods used to recruit diverse samples.

Exploring personalized psychotherapy for depression: A system dynamics approach.

Depressive disorders are the leading contributor to medical disability, yet only 22% of depressed patients receive adequate treatment in a given year. Response to treatment varies widely among individuals with depression, and poor response to one treatment does not signal poor response to others. In fact, half of patients who do not recover from a first-line psychotherapy will recover from a second option. Attempts to personalize psychotherapy to patient characteristics have produced better outcomes than usual care, but research on personalized psychotherapy is still in its infancy. The present study explores a new method for personalizing psychotherapy for depression through simulation modeling. In this study, we developed a system dynamics simulation model of depression based on one of the major mechanisms of depression in the literature and investigated the trend of depressive symptoms under different conditions and treatments. Our simulation outputs show the importance of individualized services with appropriate timing, and reveal a new method for personalizing psychotherapy to heterogeneous individuals. Future research is needed to expand the model to include additional mechanisms of depression.

Effects of adding video feedback to emotionally focused therapy supervision: A concurrent multiple-baseline across subjects design.

Emotionally focused therapy (EFT) is an empirically supported intervention for relationship distress with an established model of supervision. This study examined whether incorporating video feedback (VF) software into EFT supervision would improve therapists' level of development compared to traditional EFT supervision in a university training clinic. A concurrent multiple-baseline across subjects design, along with a thematic analysis of qualitative data, were used in this proof-of-concept study of the new supervision component. Overall, quantitative findings suggested that using VF in EFT supervision resulted in some improvement to therapists' development, while qualitative findings showed that all participants supported the incorporation of VF into EFT supervision. Future research on VF is needed to provide additional insight into the use of video review supervision.

Affair recovery: Exploring similarities and differences of injured and involved partners.

Infidelity is associated with negative effects on couples' relationships, yet some couples are able to overcome these and rebuild their relationship. Few studies have examined this process for couples who stay together after an affair. With a sample of 18 individuals (nine couples), this study explored similarities and differences between injured (i.e., partner who did not have the affair) and involved (i.e., partner who had the affair) partners' experiences across three categories of affair recovery: (a) commitment to the relationship, (b) dimensions of the attachment bond, and (c) healing process. Thematic analysis revealed similarities amongst both partners across categories: (a) frequent and quality communication, (b) mechanisms for rebuilding safety and trust, and (c) the importance of forgiveness. However, partners' experiences varied regarding (a) responses to needs for comfort, (b) their sexual relationship, and (c) responding to reminders. A discussion of these key findings and clinical implications are included.

Couple and family interventions for depressive and bipolar disorders: Evidence base update (2010-2019).

This article systematically reviews the evidence base for couple and family interventions for depressive and bipolar disorders published from 2010 to 2019. Included in the review were intervention studies on depression for couples (n = 6), depression for families (n = 13), and bipolar for families (n = 5); zero studies on couple interventions for bipolar were located. Well-established interventions include cognitive and/or behavioral couple and family interventions for depression and psychoeducational family interventions for bipolar. Attachment-based couple and family interventions for depression are probably efficacious. Finally, family psychoeducation for depression is possibly efficacious, and integrative couple interventions and family play-based interventions for depression are experimental. Couple and family interventions also improved relationship dynamics, which is noteworthy since poor relationships are associated with non-remission, relapse, and recurrence of depressive and bipolar symptoms. Future research is needed on couple interventions for bipolar disorders and interventions for minoritized populations.

Introduction to the special issue on the efficacy and effectiveness of couple and family interventions: Evidence base update 2010-2019.

This is the fourth Journal of Marital and Family Therapy (JMFT) special issue on the efficacy and effectiveness of couple and family therapy. Articles in this issue review studies published from 2010 to 2019 on couple and family interventions for prevalent mental and behavioral disorders and health conditions. The final article on mental health disparities tracks progress in the field and emphasizes the need for additional attention. In the current article, we provide a description of our methodological approach for the special issue and an overview of the state of the evidence for couple and family interventions across the conditions reviewed. We also offer recommendations to inspire researchers to further expand the empirical support for couple and family interventions to address pressing public health needs.

Representation of Diverse Populations in Couple and Family Therapy Intervention Studies: A Systematic Review of Race/Ethnicity, Sexual Orientation, Age, and Income in the United States from 2014 to 2019.

Disparities in mental health care among marginalized populations have been well-documented. Without research designed to study interventions for diverse populations, disparities in the quality of services will persist. A systematic review of articles evaluating couple and family therapy (CFT) interventions was conducted to evaluate the representation of diverse populations. More specifically, researchers sought to examine race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, income level, and age of sample participants. One hundred ninety-six studies evaluating CFT interventions in the United States in ten journals were included in the analysis. Findings indicate that family therapy research is more representative of racial minority and low-income participants compared with studies of couple interventions. Couple therapy research is often still conducted with predominately white, middle- to high-income samples. Following whites, African Americans and Hispanic/Latinos were the most common racial/ethnic groups included in both couple therapy research and family therapy research. Participants in same-sex relationships were absent from family intervention research and under-researched in couple intervention studies. Only one couple therapy study recruited a sample in which the average age was late adulthood. These findings are cause for concern given the widening mental health disparities in the United States.

Las desigualdades en la atención para la salud mental entre poblaciones marginadas están muy bien documentadas. Si no se diseñan investigaciones para estudiar intervenciones orientadas a poblaciones diversas, las desigualdades en la calidad de los servicios y en los resultados de los tratamientos seguirán existiendo. Se realizó un análisis sistemático de artículos que evaluaban las intervenciones de la terapia familiar y de pareja para evaluar la representación de poblaciones diversas. Más específicamente, los investigadores intentaron analizar la raza/etnia, la orientación sexual, el nivel de ingresos y la edad de los participantes de la muestra. Se incluyeron en el análisis ciento noventa y seis estudios que evaluaban las intervenciones de la terapia familiar y de pareja en los Estados Unidos en diez revistas médicas. Los resultados indican que la investigación sobre terapia familiar es más representativa de la minoría racial y de los participantes de bajos recursos en comparación con los estudios de intervenciones para las parejas. La investigación sobre terapia de pareja generalmente se sigue realizando con muestras predominantemente blancas, de ingresos medios y altos. Después de los blancos, los afroestadounidenses y los hispanos/latinos fueron los grupos raciales/étnicos más comunes incluidos tanto en la investigación sobre terapia familiar como en la de pareja. Los participantes de relaciones del mismo sexo estuvieron ausentes en las investigaciones sobre intervenciones familiares y se investigaron poco en los estudios sobre intervenciones para parejas. Solo un estudio sobre terapia de pareja reunió una muestra en la cual la edad promedio fue la edad adulta tardía. Estos resultados son motivo de preocupación teniendo en cuenta las desigualdades crecientes en el ámbito de la salud mental en los Estados Unidos.

Suitability of the multidimensional scale of perceived social support as a measure of functional social support among incarcerated adults with major depressive disorder.

The multidimensional scale of perceived social support (MSPSS) is a 12-item measure of functional social support (SS); however, the psychometric properties of the MSPSS have not been evaluated in prisoners. We used measures of known-groups validity, convergent and discriminant validity, internal consistency reliability and factor structure to assess the suitability of the MSPSS for measuring SS among 184 individuals in prison in the U.S., who were diagnosed with depression. The MSPSS was correlated with scores on scales measuring related constructs (i.e., loneliness), and uncorrelated with unrelated constructs (i.e., verbal ability). Correlations among items of the MSPSS on the same subscale were large, and small to moderate among items of different subscales. The overall Cronbach's α for the scale was 0.93. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the theorized three-factor solution for the MSPSS (i.e., significant other, family, and friends) provided a good fit for the data. We recommend using the MSPSS to measure perceived SS among incarcerated individuals.

Establishing Safety in Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy: A Single-Case Process Study.

Emotionally Focused Couple Therapy (EFT) is an effective approach to working with distressed couples. It is not only effective in reducing relationship distress, but also in successfully maintaining gains over time. In the current study, we sought to understand the therapy processes that result in the creation of safety during stage one of EFT. Safety is a key ingredient in stage one, setting the stage for deeper interpersonal and intrapsychic work in later stages of treatment. In order to achieve the study aim, we analyzed video recordings of the first six sessions of a single couple case from an EFT randomized controlled trial. Using a theory building case study approach, results reveal that all expected components related to the creation of safety were achieved. Additional findings from our analyses indicate that the therapist was highly active, especially in seizing key moments in the therapy provided by this particular case, which shifted the couple in the direction of safety and deescalated their interactional cycle. Implications of key findings are discussed.

Randomized controlled trial of emotionally focused couple therapy compared to treatment as usual for depression: Outcomes and mechanisms of change.

This randomized controlled trial examined the effectiveness of Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for depression and relationship satisfaction versus usual care (i.e., couple therapy other than EFT), and explored mechanisms of change. Mixed model trajectory analyses of 16 couples indicated EFT was associated with greater improvement in relationship satisfaction among men and women. Men receiving EFT reported greater improvements in depressive symptoms compared to usual care. Unified structural equation modeling revealed changes in relationship satisfaction preceded changes in depressive symptoms in one cluster of partners, while changes in depression preceded changes in relationship satisfaction in a second cluster. Two other clusters reported simultaneous changes in satisfaction and depression. This study provides encouraging results on the effectiveness of EFT for depression, and insight into mechanisms of change.

Strengthening Clinical Research in Marriage and Family Therapy: Challenges and Multilevel Solutions.

There is a critical need for high-quality and accessible treatments to improve mental health. Yet, there are indications that the research being conducted by contemporary marriage and family therapy (MFT) scholars focuses less on advancing and disseminating clinical interventions than in previous decades. In this article, we describe challenges to increasing rigorous clinical research in MFT. We use systems mapping and the intervention-level framework to identify strategic goals designed to drive innovation in clinical research in the field. It is our hope this article encourages dialog and action among MFT stakeholder groups to support clinical science that will improve the health and functioning of families.

Identifying and Understanding Communities Using Twitter to Connect About Depression: Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Depression is the leading cause of diseases globally and is often characterized by a lack of social connection. With the rise of social media, it is seen that Twitter users are seeking Web-based connections for depression. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to identify communities where Twitter users tweeted using the hashtag #MyDepressionLooksLike to connect about depression. Once identified, we wanted to understand which community characteristics correlated to Twitter users turning to a Web-based community to connect about depression. METHODS: Tweets were collected using NCapture software from May 25 to June 1, 2016 during the Mental Health Month (n=104) in the northeastern United States and Washington DC. After mapping tweets, we used a Poisson multilevel regression model to predict tweets per community (county) offset by the population and adjusted for percent female, percent population aged 15-44 years, percent white, percent below poverty, and percent single-person households. We then compared predicted versus observed counts and calculated tweeting index values (TIVs) to represent undertweeting and overtweeting. Last, we examined trends in community characteristics by TIV using Pearson correlation. RESULTS: We found significant associations between tweet counts and area-level proportions of females, single-person households, and population aged 15-44 years. TIVs were lower than expected (TIV 1) in eastern, seaboard areas of the study region. There were communities tweeting as expected in the western, inland areas (TIV 2). Counties tweeting more than expected were generally scattered throughout the study region with a small cluster at the base of Maine. When examining community characteristics and overtweeting and undertweeting by county, we observed a clear upward gradient in several types of nonprofits and TIV values. However, we also observed U-shaped relationships for many community factors, suggesting that the same characteristics were correlated with both overtweeting and undertweeting. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that Web-based communities, rather than replacing physical connection, may complement or serve as proxies for offline social communities, as seen through the consistent correlations between higher levels of tweeting and abundant nonprofits. Future research could expand the spatiotemporal scope to confirm these findings.

Modeling and estimating the feedback mechanisms among depression, rumination, and stressors in adolescents.

The systemic interactions among depressive symptoms, rumination, and stress are important to understanding depression but have not yet been quantified. In this article, we present a system dynamics simulation model of depression that captures the reciprocal relationships among stressors, rumination, and depression. Building on the response styles theory, this model formalizes three interdependent mechanisms: 1) Rumination contributes to 'keeping stressors alive'; 2) Rumination has a direct impact on depressive symptoms; and 3) Both 'stressors kept alive' and current depressive symptoms contribute to rumination. The strength of these mechanisms is estimated using data from 661 adolescents (353 girls and 308 boys) from two middle schools (grades 6-8). These estimates indicate that rumination contributes to depression by keeping stressors 'alive'-and the individual activated-even after the stressor has ended. This mechanism is stronger among girls than boys, increasing their vulnerability to a rumination reinforcing loop. Different profiles of depression emerge over time depending on initial levels of depressive symptoms, rumination, and stressors as well as the occurrence rate for stressors; levels of rumination and occurrence of stressors are stronger contributors to long-term depression. Our systems model is a steppingstone towards a more comprehensive understanding of depression in which reinforcing feedback mechanisms play a significant role. Future research is needed to expand this simulation model to incorporate other drivers of depression and provide a more holistic tool for studying depression.

#MyDepressionLooksLike: Examining Public Discourse About Depression on Twitter.

BACKGROUND: Social media provides a context for billions of users to connect, express sentiments, and provide in-the-moment status updates. Because Twitter users tend to tweet emotional updates from daily life, the platform provides unique insights into experiences of mental health problems. Depression is not only one of the most prevalent health conditions but also carries a social stigma. Yet, opening up about one's depression and seeking social support may provide relief from symptoms. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the public discourse of the trending hashtag #MyDepressionLooksLike to look more closely at how users talk about their depressive symptoms on Twitter. METHODS: We captured 3225 original content tweets for the hashtag #MyDepressionLooksLike that circulated in May of 2016. Eliminating public service announcements, spam, and tweets with links to pictures or videos resulted in a total of 1978 tweets. Using qualitative content analysis, we coded the tweets to detect themes. RESULTS: The content analysis revealed seven themes: dysfunctional thoughts, lifestyle challenges, social struggles, hiding behind a mask, apathy and sadness, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and seeking relief. CONCLUSIONS: The themes revealed important information about the content of the public messages that people share about depression on Twitter. More research is needed to understand the effects of the hashtag on increasing social support for users and reducing social stigma related to depression.

Illustrating idiographic methods for translation research: moderation effects, natural clinical experiments, and complex treatment-by-subgroup interactions.

A critical juncture in translation research involves the preliminary studies of intervention tools, provider training programs, policies, and other mechanisms used to leverage knowledge garnered at one translation stage into another stage. Potentially useful for such studies are rigorous techniques for conducting within-subject clinical trials, which have advanced incrementally over the last decade. However, these methods have largely not been utilized within prevention or translation contexts. The purpose of this manuscript is to demonstrate the flexibility, wide applicability, and rigor of idiographic clinical trials for preliminary testing of intervention mechanisms. Specifically demonstrated are novel uses of state-space modeling for testing intervention mechanisms of short-term outcomes, identifying heterogeneity in and moderation of within-person treatment mechanisms, a horizontal line plot to refine sampling design during the course of a clinic-based experimental study, and the need to test a treatment's efficacy as treatment is administered along with (e.g., traditional 12-month outcomes).

Modeling the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis: A review and extension.

Multiple models of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis have been developed to characterize the oscillations seen in the hormone concentrations and to examine HPA axis dysfunction. We reviewed the existing models, then replicated and compared five of them by finding their correspondence to a dataset consisting of ACTH and cortisol concentrations of 17 healthy individuals. We found that existing models use different feedback mechanisms, vary in the level of details and complexities, and offer inconsistent conclusions. None of the models fit the validation dataset well. Therefore, we re-calibrated the best performing model using partial calibration and extended the model by adding individual fixed effects and an exogenous circadian function. Our estimated parameters reduced the mean absolute percent error significantly and offer a validated reference model that can be used in diverse applications. Our analysis suggests that the circadian and ultradian cycles are not created endogenously by the HPA axis feedbacks, which is consistent with the recent literature on the circadian clock and HPA axis.