A randomized-controlled trial of cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression with integrated techniques from emotion-focused and exposure therapies.

BACKGROUND: Emotional processing (EP) is hypothesized to be a key mechanism of change in psychotherapy that may enhance its long-term efficacy. To study the effects of fostering EP in psychotherapy for depression, this randomized-controlled clinical trial compares the efficacy and pattern of change of a cognitive-behavioral therapy that integrates emotion-focused techniques within an exposure framework (Exposure-Based Cognitive Therapy for depression; EBCT-R) to a standard cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). METHODS: One hundred and forty-nine depressed outpatients were randomized to a maximum of 22 sessions of manualized EBCT-R (N = 77) or CBT (N = 72). Primary outcomes were self-reported and clinician-rated depressive symptoms at posttreatment and 12-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes were self-esteem, interpersonal problems, and avoidance thoughts and behaviors. RESULTS: Depressive symptoms improved significantly over therapy in both treatments, with large within-group effect sizes for CBT (d = -1.95) and EBCT-R (d = -1.77). The pattern of depression change during treatment did not differ between treatments. Symptom relief lasted over 12 months and did not differ between EBCT-R and CBT. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that both treatments produced significant short- and long-term improvement in depression symptoms, but the integration of emotion-focused techniques within an exposure framework did not have added benefit. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01012856 Clinical or methodological significance of this article: This trial compares cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) with a similarly structured CBT that was designed to foster emotional processing by integrating emotion-focused techniques within an exposure framework. Results indicate that this form of assimilative integration did not improve outcomes at 12-month follow-up.

Self-reported interpersonal problems and impact messages as perceived by significant others are differentially associated with the process and outcome of depression therapy.

Interpersonal factors play a major role in causing and maintaining depression. This study sought to investigate how patients' self-perceived interpersonal problems and impact messages as perceived by significant others are interrelated, change over therapy, and differentially predict process and outcome in psychotherapy of depression. For the present study, we used data from 144 outpatients suffering from major depression that were treated within a psychotherapy study. Interpersonal variables were assessed pre- and posttherapy with the self-report Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-Circumplex Scale (IIP-32; Thomas, Brähler, & Strauss, 2011) and with the informant-based Impact Message Inventory (Caspar, Berger, Fingerle, & Werner, 2016). Patients' levels on the dimensions of Agency and Communion were calculated from both measures; their levels on Interpersonal Distress were measured with the IIP. Depressive and general symptomatology was assessed at pre-, post-, and at 3-month follow-up; patient-reported process measures were assessed during therapy. The Agency scores of IIP and IMI correlated moderately, but the Communion scores did not. IIP Communion was positively associated with the quality of the early therapeutic alliance and with the average level of cognitive-emotional processing during therapy. Whereas IIP Communion and IMI Agency increased over therapy, IIP Distress decreased. A pre-post-decrease in IIP Distress was positively associated with pre-postsymptomatic change over and above the other interpersonal variables, but pre-post-increase in IMI Agency was positively associated with symptomatic improvement from post- to 3-month follow-up. These findings suggest that significant others seem to provide important additional information about the patients' interpersonal style. (PsycINFO Database Record