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Relationships among alexithymia, therapeutic alliance, and psychotherapy outcome in major depressive disorder
- Source :
- Psychiatry research. 254
- Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Previous studies have found that alexithymia predicts process and outcome of psychodynamic psychotherapy across a range of psychiatric disorders. There is preliminary evidence that alexithymia may exert its effects on outcome through the therapist. Other studies have found that alexithymia does not influence outcome of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The aim of the current study was to investigate the capacity of alexithymia to predict therapist- and patient-rated therapeutic alliance and response to CBT and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for major depressive disorder. A total of 75 adults with major depressive disorder were randomized to receive weekly sessions of manualized individual CBT or IPT for a period of 16 weeks. Pre-treatment alexithymia exhibited a positive direct effect on depression change, and a negative indirect effect on depression change via patient-rated alliance at week 13. There was no mediating role of therapist-rated alliance. Although these findings are preliminary, they suggest that pre-treatment alexithymia has meaningful links to psychotherapy process and outcome, and that nuanced analyses incorporating intervening variables are necessary to elucidate the nature of these links.
- Subjects :
- Adult
Male
Psychotherapist
Psychotherapeutic Processes
medicine.medical_treatment
03 medical and health sciences
Random Allocation
0302 clinical medicine
Alexithymia
medicine
Humans
Affective Symptoms
Prospective Studies
Prospective cohort study
Biological Psychiatry
Depression (differential diagnoses)
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychodynamic psychotherapy
Depressive Disorder, Major
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Middle Aged
medicine.disease
030227 psychiatry
Cognitive behavioral therapy
Psychotherapy
Psychiatry and Mental health
Treatment Outcome
Cognitive therapy
Interpersonal psychotherapy
Major depressive disorder
Female
Psychology
Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Clinical psychology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 18727123
- Volume :
- 254
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Psychiatry research
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....a7b76adf31765438df6b10b57527c985