Discovering What Works: The Science of Youth Psychotherapy and Four Decades of Meta-Analysis
Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, Volume 19, Issue 1, Page 79-105, May 2023.
Psychotherapy Research
Why Fearing Breast Cancer Can Be a Failure of the Dual Maternal Functions?
Volume 104, Issue 2, April 2023, Page 244-262.
Get ready for the future of mental health research: Center for Global Mental Health Research Webinar Series 2023 – Finding the perfect treatment for the right people at the right time. Let’s promote stratification to boost Global Mental Health!
This webinar focuses on the value of stratification as a tool for driving transformative change in early interventions for people with anxiety, depression, and psychosis.
Discovering the Positive Impact of Counselling: A Community Study on Anxiety and Depression
Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, EarlyView.
Overcoming Fears and Challenges: Dialectical Behavior Therapists Embracing Telehealth
Publication date: March 2023Source: Journal of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy, Volume 33, Issue 1Author(s): Khrystyna Stetsiv, Kevin Rebmann, Chelsey R. Wilks
Mechanisms of cognitive-behavioral therapy effects on symptoms of body dysmorphic disorder: a network intervention analysis
Background
Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a severe and undertreated condition. Although cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is the first-line psychosocial treatment for this common disorder, how the intervention works is insufficiently understood. Specific pathways have been hypothesized, but only one small study has examined the precise nature of treatment effects of CBT, and no prior study has examined the effects of supportive psychotherapy (SPT).
Methods
This study re-examined a large trial (n = 120) comparing CBT to SPT for BDD. Network intervention analyses were used to explore symptom-level data across time. We computed mixed graphical models at multiple time points to examine relative differences in direct and indirect effects of the two interventions.
Results
In the resulting networks, CBT and SPT appeared to differentially target certain symptoms. The largest differences included CBT increasing efforts to disengage from and restructure unhelpful thoughts and resist BDD rituals, while SPT was directly related to improvement in BDD-related insight. Additionally, the time course of differences aligned with the intended targets of CBT; cognitive effects emerged first and behavioral effects second, paralleling cognitive restructuring in earlier sessions and the emphasis on exposure and ritual prevention in later sessions. Differences in favor of CBT were most consistent for behavioral targets.
Conclusions
CBT and SPT primarily affected different symptoms. To improve patient care, the field needs a better understanding of how and when BDD treatments and treatment components succeed. Considering patient experiences at the symptom level and over time can aid in refining or reorganizing treatments to better fit patient needs.
Brief self-affirmation intervention for adults with psoriasis for reducing anxiety and depression and boosting well-being: Evidence from a randomized controlled trial
Background
There are relatively few studies to address mental health implications of self-affirming, especially across groups experiencing a chronic health condition. In this study, short- and longer-term effects of a brief self-affirmation intervention framed in terms of implementation intentions (if-then plans with self-affirming cognitions; S-AII) were evaluated against an active control group (non-affirming implementation intentions; N-AII), matched to the target condition, and mere goal intention condition (a non-active control) in adults with psoriasis. The three pre-registered primary outcomes captured depression, anxiety, and well-being.
Methods
Adults with psoriasis (N = 175; Mage = 36.53, s.d. = 11.52) were randomized into S-AII, N-AII, or control. Participants’ mental health outcomes were assessed prior to randomization (at baseline), at week 2 (post-intervention), and at a 1-month follow-up.
Results
Linear mixed models were used and results were reported on the intention-to-treat principle. Analyses revealed that S-AII exerted significantly more improvement in the course of well-being (ds > 0.25), depressive symptoms (ds > −0.40), and anxiety (ds > −0.45) than the N-AII and control group at 2-week post-intervention. Though the differences between groups faded at 1-month follow-up, the within-group changes over time for S-AII in all mental health outcomes remained significant.
Conclusions
Brief and low-intensity S-AII intervention exerted in the short-term a considerable impact on mental health outcomes. The S-AII shows promising results as a relevant public mental health strategy for enhancing well-being and reducing psychological distress. Future studies could consider whether these effects can be further enhanced with booster interventions.
Condition openness is associated with better mental health in individuals with an intersex/differences of sex development condition: structural equation modeling of European multicenter data
Background
Openness on one’s health condition or (stigmatized) identity generally improves mental health. Intersex or differences of sex development (DSD) conditions have long been kept concealed and high levels of (internalizing) mental health problems are reported. This study examines the effects of condition openness on anxiety and depression and the role of mediating concepts in this population.
Methods
Cross-sectional data of individuals of 16 years and older with an intersex/DSD condition was collected in 14 specialized European clinics as part of the dsd-LIFE study. Patient-reported measures were taken on openness and shame (Coping with DSD), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), satisfaction with care (CSQ4), anxiety and depression (HADS). Scores were compared per clinical group and data were analyzed via structural equation modeling (SEM) to calculate prediction and mediation models.
Results
Data of 903 individuals were included in this study (Turner syndrome (n = 284), 46, XY DSD (n = 233), CAH (n = 206) and Klinefelter syndrome (n = 180)). Participants were moderately open on their condition. High levels of both anxiety and depression were observed across the sample. In SEM analysis, the tested models predicted 25% of openness, 31% of anxiety and 48% of depression. More condition openness directly predicted lower anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as indirectly through increased self-esteem, self-satisfaction and satisfaction with social support.
Conclusions
Condition openness is associated with lower anxiety and depression in individuals with an intersex/DSD condition. Healthcare may provide the necessary knowledge and skills to employ one’s optimal level of self-disclosure in order to improve mental health.
Prenatal maternal stress, child internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and the moderating role of parenting: findings from the Norwegian mother, father, and child cohort study
Background
Few studies have examined how parenting influences the associations between prenatal maternal stress and children’s mental health. The objectives of this study were to examine the sex-specific associations between prenatal maternal stress and child internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and to assess the moderating effects of parenting behaviors on these associations.
Methods
This study is based on 15 963 mother–child dyads from the Norwegian Mother, Father, and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). A broad measure of prenatal maternal stress was constructed using 41 self-reported items measured during pregnancy. Three parenting behaviors (positive parenting, inconsistent discipline, and positive involvement) were assessed by maternal report at child age 5 years. Child symptoms of internalizing and externalizing disorders (depression, anxiety, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, and oppositional-defiant disorder) were assessed by maternal report at age 8. Analyses were conducted using structural equation modeling techniques.
Results
Prenatal maternal stress was associated with child internalizing and externalizing symptoms at age 8; associations with externalizing symptoms differed by sex. Associations between prenatal maternal stress and child depression, and conduct disorder and oppositional-defiant disorder in males, became stronger as levels of inconsistent discipline increased. Associations between prenatal maternal stress and symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in females were attenuated as levels of parental involvement increased.
Conclusions
This study confirms associations between prenatal maternal stress and children’s mental health outcomes, and demonstrates that these associations may be modified by parenting behaviors. Parenting may represent an important intervention target for improving mental health outcomes in children exposed to prenatal stress.
