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- Doukani, Asmae, et al.
(författare)
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Comparison of the Working Alliance in Blended Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Treatment as Usual for Depression in Europe: Secondary Data Analysis of the E-COMPARED Randomized Controlled Trial
- 2024
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Ingår i: Journal of Medical Internet Research. - : JMIR PUBLICATIONS, INC. - 1438-8871. ; 26
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Increasing interest has centered on the psychotherapeutic working alliance as a means of understanding clinical change in digital mental health interventions in recent years. However, little is understood about how and to what extent a digital mental health program can have an impact on the working alliance and clinical outcomes in a blended (therapist plus digital program) cognitive behavioral therapy (bCBT) intervention for depression. Objective: This study aimed to test the difference in working alliance scores between bCBT and treatment as usual (TAU), examine the association between working alliance and depression severity scores in both arms, and test for an interaction between system usability and working alliance with regard to the association between working alliance and depression scores in bCBT at 3 -month assessments. Methods: We conducted a secondary data analysis of the E -COMPARED (European Comparative Effectiveness Research on Blended Depression Treatment versus Treatment -as -usual) trial, which compared bCBT with TAU across 9 European countries. Data were collected in primary care and specialized services between April 2015 and December 2017. Eligible participants aged 18 years or older and diagnosed with major depressive disorder were randomized to either bCBT (n=476) or TAU (n=467). bCBT consisted of 6-20 sessions of bCBT (involving face-to-face sessions with a therapist and an internet-based program). TAU consisted of usual care for depression. The main outcomes were scores of the working alliance (Working Alliance Inventory -Short Revised-Client [WAI-SR-C]) and depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire -9 [PHQ-9]) at 3 months after randomization. Other variables included system usability scores (System Usability Scale -Client [SUS -C]) at 3 months and baseline demographic information. Data from baseline and 3 -month assessments were analyzed using linear regression models that adjusted for a set of baseline variables. Results: Of the 945 included participants, 644 (68.2%) were female, and the mean age was 38.96 years (IQR 38). bCBT was associated with higher composite WAI-SR-C scores compared to TAU ( B =5.67, 95% CI 4.48-6.86). There was an inverse association between WAI-SR-C and PHQ-9 in bCBT ( B =-0.12, 95% CI -0.17 to -0.06) and TAU ( B =-0.06, 95% CI -0.11 to -0.02), in which as WAI-SR-C scores increased, PHQ-9 scores decreased. Finally, there was a significant interaction between SUS -C and WAI-SR-C with regard to an inverse association between higher WAI-SR-C scores and lower PHQ-9 scores in bCBT ( b =-0.030, 95% CI -0.05 to -0.01; P =.005). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study to show that bCBT may enhance the client working alliance when compared to evidence -based routine care for depression that services reported offering. The working alliance in bCBT was also associated with clinical improvements that appear to be enhanced by good program usability. Our findings add further weight to the view that the addition of internet-delivered CBT to face-to-face CBT may positively augment experiences of the working alliance.
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| 2. |
- van Genugten, Claire Rosalie, et al.
(författare)
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Examining the Theoretical Framework of Behavioral Activation for Major Depressive Disorder : Smartphone-Based Ecological Momentary Assessment Study
- 2021
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Ingår i: JMIR Mental Health. - : JMIR Publications Inc. - 2368-7959. ; 8:12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Behavioral activation (BA), either as a stand-alone treatment or as part of cognitive behavioral therapy, has been shown to be effective for treating depression. The theoretical underpinnings of BA derive from Lewinsohn et als theory of depression. The central premise of BA is that having patients engage in more pleasant activities leads to them experiencing more pleasure and elevates their mood, which, in turn, leads to further (behavioral) activation. However, there is a dearth of empirical evidence about the theoretical framework of BA. Objective: This study aims to examine the assumed (temporal) associations of the 3 constructs in the theoretical framework of BA. Methods: Data were collected as part of the "European Comparative Effectiveness Research on Internet-based Depression Treatment versus treatment-as-usual" trial among patients who were randomly assigned to receive blended cognitive behavioral therapy (bCBT). As part of bCBT, patients completed weekly assessments of their level of engagement in pleasant activities, the pleasure they experienced as a result of these activities, and their mood over the course of the treatment using a smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) application. Longitudinal cross-lagged and cross-sectional associations of 240 patients were examined using random intercept cross-lagged panel models. Results: The analyses did not reveal any statistically significant cross-lagged coefficients (all P>.05). Statistically significant cross-sectional positive associations between activities, pleasure, and mood levels were identified. Moreover, the levels of engagement in activities, pleasure, and mood slightly increased over the duration of the treatment. In addition, mood seemed to carry over, over time, while both levels of engagement in activities and pleasurable experiences did not. Conclusions: The results were partially in accordance with the theoretical framework of BA, insofar as the analyses revealed cross-sectional relationships between levels of engagement in activities, pleasurable experiences deriving from these activities, and enhanced mood. However, given that no statistically significant temporal relationships were revealed, no conclusions could be drawn about potential causality. A shorter measurement interval (eg, daily rather than weekly EMA reports) might be more attuned to detecting potential underlying temporal pathways. Future research should use an EMA methodology to further investigate temporal associations, based on theory and how treatments are presented to patients.
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