Jarmo Kontunen1, Markku Timonen2, Joona Muotka3, Timo Liukkonen4. 1. Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Electronic address: jarmo.kontunen@sicom.fi. 2. Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oulu, Finland. 3. Department of Psychology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. 4. Department of Psychiatry, Savonlinna Central Hospital, and Institute of Health Sciences, University of Oulu, Finland.
Abstract
BACKGROUND:Psychotherapeutic treatment is underused in primary care, where even short-term psychotherapy can be perceived as too lengthy and labour-intensive. We tested here for the first time the preliminary efficacy of seven sessions of interpersonal counselling (IPC) by comparison with sixteen sessions of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) in regular clinical settings. METHODS:Patients seeking treatment for the first time who met the DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD, mild/moderate) were randomized to either IPC (n=20) or IPT (n=20). The efficacy of the treatments was assessed using the 34-item Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (CORE-OM) scale and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale. RESULTS: 90% of the patients completed all the treatment sessions. IPC delivered by psychiatric nurses in primary care proved equally as effective as IPT delivered by psychotherapists/psychologists in secondary care. The pre-treatment to 12-month follow-up within-group effect sizes were large: 1.52 (CORE-OM) and 1.41 (BDI) in the IPC group and 1.58 (CORE-OM) and 1.40 (BDI) in the IPT group. At the 12-month follow-up 59% of the patients in the IPC group and 63% in the IPT group were classified as recovered on the CORE-OM scale, with corresponding remission rates of 61% for both groups on the BDI scale. LIMITATIONS: The small sample size limited the power to detect differences between the groups and the naturalistic settings may have confounded the results. CONCLUSIONS: This clinical trial suggests that IPC is an appropriate and even sufficient first-phase intervention for handling previously untreated mild to moderate depression in primary health care.
RCT Entities:
BACKGROUND: Psychotherapeutic treatment is underused in primary care, where even short-term psychotherapy can be perceived as too lengthy and labour-intensive. We tested here for the first time the preliminary efficacy of seven sessions of interpersonal counselling (IPC) by comparison with sixteen sessions of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) in regular clinical settings. METHODS:Patients seeking treatment for the first time who met the DSM-IV criteria for major depressive disorder (MDD, mild/moderate) were randomized to either IPC (n=20) or IPT (n=20). The efficacy of the treatments was assessed using the 34-item Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation (CORE-OM) scale and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale. RESULTS: 90% of the patients completed all the treatment sessions. IPC delivered by psychiatric nurses in primary care proved equally as effective as IPT delivered by psychotherapists/psychologists in secondary care. The pre-treatment to 12-month follow-up within-group effect sizes were large: 1.52 (CORE-OM) and 1.41 (BDI) in the IPC group and 1.58 (CORE-OM) and 1.40 (BDI) in the IPT group. At the 12-month follow-up 59% of the patients in the IPC group and 63% in the IPT group were classified as recovered on the CORE-OM scale, with corresponding remission rates of 61% for both groups on the BDI scale. LIMITATIONS: The small sample size limited the power to detect differences between the groups and the naturalistic settings may have confounded the results. CONCLUSIONS: This clinical trial suggests that IPC is an appropriate and even sufficient first-phase intervention for handling previously untreated mild to moderate depression in primary health care.
Authors: Gabriel Abotsie; Viktoria Cestaro; Brioney Gee; Jamie Murdoch; Thando Katangwe; Richard Meiser-Stedman; Lee Shepstone; David Turner; Susie Tulk; Sharon Jarrett; Jon Wilson; Tim Clarke; Bonnie Teague; Paul Wilkinson Journal: Pilot Feasibility Stud Date: 2020-12-10
Authors: Maria Isabel Perez Mattos; Bruno Paz Mosqueiro; Scott Stuart; Giovanni Salum; Rosana de Lima Duzzo; Laura Wolf de Souza; Ariane Chini; Marcelo Pio de Almeida Fleck Journal: Rev Saude Publica Date: 2022-04-22 Impact factor: 2.106