Search

A randomized controlled trial is reported in which three treatments were compared for the management of depression in Primary Care. The treatments were Treatment As Usual (TAU) carried out by the General Practitioners, Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy (CBT) or Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT). Measurements of depressive symptomatology were taken at Baseline (Time1), at end of treatment (Time2), and at 5-month follow-up (Time3). An initial analysis of the longitudinal data revealed that there were a significant number of missing values, especially in the Time3 follow-up for the TAU group. That is, the missing data were not missing at random within the dataset, which is one of the considerations for usual procedures for replacement of missing values (RMV). The paper presents, therefore, the outcome of different approaches to RMV and their consequences for conclusions about the relative efficacy of the treatment conditions. The results showed that clients in all conditions improved significantly, with at least some analyses showing superiority of IPT and CBT at end of treatment Time 2. However, by the follow-up clients in all conditions performed equally well. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background It has been increasingly recognized that subthreshold depression is associated with considerable personal, social and economic costs. However, there is no accepted definition or clear-cut treatment for subthreshold depression. Cognitive bibliotherapy is a promising approach, but further research is necessary in order to assess its clinical efficacy and key mechanisms of change. Aim This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of bibliotherapy for subthreshold depression and test whether maladaptive cognitions mediate the effects of bibliotherapy on depressive symptoms. Method A total of 96 young adults with subthreshold depression were randomized in one of the following treatment conditions: immediate treatment, delayed treatment, placebo and no treatment. The main outcome was represented by depressive symptoms assessed before, during and immediately after the treatment, as well as at 3-month follow-up. Automatic thoughts, dysfunctional attitudes and irrational beliefs were also assessed throughout the study, and we investigated their involvement as mediators of bibliotherapy effects on depressive symptoms. Results The results indicated that cognitive bibliotherapy resulted in statistically and clinically significant changes both in depressive symptoms and cognitions, which were maintained at follow-up. In contrast, placebo was only associated with a temporary decrease in depressive symptoms, without significant cognitive changes. No changes in symptoms or cognitions were found in the delayed treatment and no treatment groups. We also found that automatic thoughts significantly mediated the effect of bibliotherapy on depressive symptoms. Conclusion This study provided compelling evidence for the efficacy of cognitive bibliotherapy in subthreshold depression and showed that changes in automatic thoughts mediated the effect of bibliotherapy on depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message Cognitive bibliotherapy is an effective treatment of subthreshold depression., Changing automatic thoughts is important, as they mediate the bibliotherapy effect on depressive symptoms., Cognitive bibliotherapy is a potential alternative or adjunct to psychotherapy for mildly depressed adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compulsive buying (CB) is defined as extreme preoccupation with buying/shopping and frequent buying that causes substantial negative psychological, social, occupational and financial consequences. There exists preliminary evidence that group cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is effective in the treatment of CB. The present pilot study made a first attempt to compare group CBT for CB with telephone-guided self-help (GSH). Fifty-six patients were allocated randomly to one of the three conditions: (1) group CBT ( n = 22); (2) GSH ( n = 20); and (3) a waiting list condition ( n = 14). The results indicate that face-to-face group CBT is superior not only to the waiting list condition but also to GSH. Patients who received GSH tended to have more success in overcoming CB compared with the waiting list controls. Given the sample size, the results must be considered as preliminary and further research is needed to address the topic whether GSH also could be a helpful intervention in reducing CB. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key Practitioner Message Group cognitive-behavioural therapy is effective in the treatment of compulsive buying and superior to telephone-guided self-help., Preliminary data suggest that individuals who received telephone-guided self-help reported some improvement in compulsive buying compared with a waiting list condition., Further research is needed to investigate whether guided-self help is effective in overcoming compulsive buying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]