MOTIVATION TO SEEK PSYCHOTHERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH RECURRENT DEPRESSIVE DISORDER

Injury Severity and Depressive Symptoms in a Post-acute Brain Injury Rehabilitation Sample

This study explored the relationship between injury severity and depressive symptoms for treatment-seeking individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The Mayo Classification System was used to classify TBI severity in 72 participants who completed the Patient Health Questionnaire at admission and at dismissal from rehabilitation. Patients with mild TBI reported more depressive symptoms than those with moderate or severe TBI at admission and at dismissal. Although injury severity groups differed by gender composition, gender had no effect on severity of depressive symptoms. All participants reported fewer depressive symptoms at dismissal from rehabilitation, including lower endorsement of dysphoria by discharge. Participants with mild TBI, however, continued to report depressive symptoms of a mild severity at dismissal, with residual problems with anhedonia. These findings underscore the benefit of interdisciplinary post-acute rehabilitation services for persons with TBI of any severity, including those with mild injury.

Strategies for reducing patient-initiated premature termination of psychotherapy

Rates of patient-initiated premature termination in different forms of psychotherapy are consistently high. Patient-initiated premature termination is recognized as a significant obstacle to the effective and efficient use of psychotherapy. The literature describes many strategies for preventing premature termination, but lacks integration. This review attempts to provide a concise and comprehensive summary of the strategies that research or clinical experience have suggested may be useful for minimizing patient-initiated premature termination. A search was conducted on the MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and EMBASE databases for literature published between January 1970 and March 2004. Retrieved articles were published in English in peer-reviewed journals and focused on psychotherapy for adults. Thirty-nine publications that discussed strategies for preventing or reducing patient-initiated premature termination of psychotherapy were identified. Surprisingly, only 15 of these were research studies. Most of the retrieved literature consisted of clinical descriptions. The strategies can be assigned to nine categories: pretherapy preparation, patient selection, time-limited or short-term contracts, treatment negotiation, case management, appointment reminders, motivation enhancement, facilitation of a therapeutic alliance, and facilitation of affect expression. Research supports some of the strategies for reducing premature termination. However, methodologically sound studies of prevention strategies remain few in number.