Prevalence of suicidal ideation in German psychotherapy outpatients: A large multicenter assessment.

BACKGROUND: Suicidal ideation is a major concern in clinical practice. Yet, little is known about prevalence rates of suicidal ideation in patients undergoing outpatient psychotherapeutic treatment. Therefore, the aim of the current study is to assess the prevalence of suicidal ideation in a large sample of psychotherapy outpatients in Germany. The data analyzed in this study is taken from the KODAP-project on the coordination of data collection and analysis at German university-based research and training outpatient clinics for psychotherapy. METHODS: A total of N = 10,357 adult outpatients (64.4 % female; age: M(SD) = 35.94 (13.54), range: 18-92 years of age) starting cognitive-behavioral therapy at one of 27 outpatient clinics in Germany were included in the current study. Prevalence of suicidal ideation was assessed with the Suicide Item (Item 9) of the Beck-Depression Inventory II. RESULTS: Suicidal ideation was reported by 36.7 % (n = 3795) of the participants. Borderline Personality Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and recurrent Major Depression were the diagnoses most strongly associated with the presence and severity of suicidal ideation. LIMITATION: Suicide ideation was assessed only with the respective item of the Beck Depression Inventory II. CONCLUSION: Suicidal ideation is very common among adult patients who start psychotherapy in Germany. A well-founded knowledge of risk assessment in suicidal patients and suicide-specific treatment options is therefore highly relevant.

Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS): Optimal cut points for remission and response in a German sample.

The Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) is the most frequently used instrument to assess social anxiety disorder (SAD) in clinical research and practice. Both a self-reported (LSAS-SR) and a clinician-administered (LSAS-CA) version are available. The aim of the present study was to define optimal cut-off (OC) scores for remission and response to treatment for the LSAS in a German sample. Data of N = 311 patients with SAD were used who had completed psychotherapeutic treatment within a multicentre randomized controlled trial. Diagnosis of SAD and reduction in symptom severity according to the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, served as gold standard. OCs yielding the best balance between sensitivity and specificity were determined using receiver operating characteristics. The variability of the resulting OCs was estimated by nonparametric bootstrapping. Using diagnosis of SAD (present vs. absent) as a criterion, results for remission indicated cut-off values of 35 for the LSAS-SR and 30 for the LSAS-CA, with acceptable sensitivity (LSAS-SR: .83, LSAS-CA: .88) and specificity (LSAS-SR: .82, LSAS-CA: .87). For detection of response to treatment, assessed by a 1-point reduction in the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, rating, a reduction of 28% for the LSAS-SR and 29% for the LSAS-CA yielded the best balance between sensitivity (LSAS-SR: .75, LSAS-CA: .83) and specificity (LSAS-SR: .76, LSAS-CA: .80). To our knowledge, we are the first to define cut points for the LSAS in a German sample. Overall, the cut points for remission and response corroborate previously reported cut points, now building on a broader data basis.

The social phobia psychotherapy research network. The first multicenter randomized controlled trial of psychotherapy for social phobia: rationale, methods and patient characteristics.

This paper presents the Social Phobia Psychotherapy Research Network. The research program encompasses a coordinated group of studies adopting a standard protocol and an agreed-on set of standardized measures for the assessment and treatment of social phobia (SP). In the central project (study A), a multicenter randomized controlled trial, refined models of manualized cognitive-behavioral therapy and manualized short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy are compared in the treatment of SP. A sample of 512 outpatients will be randomized to either cognitive-behavioral therapy, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy or waiting list. Assessments will be made at baseline, at the end of treatment and 6 and 12 months after the end of treatment. For quality assurance and treatment integrity, a specific project using highly elaborated measures has been established (project Q). Study A is complemented by 4 interrelated add-on projects focusing on attachment style (study B1), on cost-effectiveness (study B2), on variation in the serotonin transporter gene in SP (study C1) and on structural and functional deviations of the hippocampus and amygdala (study C2). Thus, the Social Phobia Psychotherapy Research Network program enables a highly interdisciplinary research into SP. The unique sample size achieved by the multicenter approach allows for studies of subgroups (e.g. comorbid disorders, isolated vs. generalized SP), of responders and nonresponders of each treatment approach, for generalization of results and for a sufficient power to detect differences between treatments. Psychological and biological parameters will be related to treatment outcome, and variables for differential treatment indication will be gained. Thus, the results provided by the network may have an important impact on the treatment of SP and on the development of treatment guidelines for SP.

[Quality of the therapeutic relationship: do common factors in psychotherapy correspond with common characteristics of psychotherapists? SPR Collaborative Research Network]. / Die Qualität der therapeutischen Beziehung: Entsprechen gemeinsame Faktoren in der Psychotherapie gemeinsamen Charakteristika von PsychotherapeutInnen? SPR-Collaborative Research Network.

In view of the great diversity to be found among psychotherapists in many countries in terms of professional background, theoretical orientation, and other personal and demographic characteristics, it is surprising to find certain areas of great commonality. Among the most striking of these are therapists' reports of their ideals and perceptions concerning their manner of relating to their patients. A very large majority of nearly 2,400 therapists surveyed in an on-going study of psychotherapeutic development wanted to and did see their behavior vis-a-vis patients as accepting, friendly, warm, tolerant, committed, and involved. These traits, which indicate a strong proclivity toward forming a positive therapeutic bond or alliance, also closely match qualities that therapists perceive in their own personal relationships. Discussion of these findings focuses on the possible sources and therapeutic consequences of this common pattern of interpersonal behavior.

[Development of the theoretical orientation of psychotherapists. SPR Collaborative Research Network]. / Zur Entwicklung der theoretischen Orientierung von PsychotherapeutInnen. SPR Collaborative Research Network.

This article explores the extent to which, and ways in which, German speaking psychotherapists modify their theoretical orientations as a function of increasing clinical experience. The data for this come from the Development of Psychotherapists Common Core Questionnaire (CCQ), an instrument designed by the SPR Collaborative Research Network to collect a broad range of information about the therapist's background, training, practice etc. Two sections ask directly about the theoretical framework used by therapists to guide their therapeutic work, using a set of scales to assess the degree to which practitioners rely on various general models (analytic/psychodynamic, behavioral, humanistic, cognitive, systems theory, other). This permits the construction of profiles of formal and content based theoretical orientation patterns. By asking the question separately about the therapist's current practice, and about their practices as beginners, it also permits an evaluation of self-assessed change. In order to amplify the meaning of the theoretical background we ask therapists to indicate the relative importance of their patients realizing each of a series of therapeutic goals. The findings show very clearly that psychotherapists are very diverse both in the formal patterns and specific contents of their therapeutic orientations, and that they tend, as a role, to integrate two or more distinct theoretical approaches in guiding their clinical work with patients. The adherence to theoretical orientations has a strong impact on the goals that therapists typically work toward with their patients. Our findings show that therapists do pursue different goals depending on which conceptual framework they rely on.