Transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural treatment and the impact of co-morbidity: An open trial in a cohort of primary care patients

EEG based Major Depressive disorder and Bipolar disorder detection using Neural Networks:A review

Mental disorders represent critical public health challenges as they are leading contributors to the global burden of disease and intensely influence social and financial welfare of individuals. The present comprehensive review concentrate on the two mental disorders: Major depressive Disorder (MDD) and Bipolar Disorder (BD) with noteworthy publications during the last ten years. There is a big need nowadays for phenotypic characterization of psychiatric disorders with biomarkers. Electroencephalography (EEG) signals could offer a rich signature for MDD and BD and then they could improve understanding of pathophysiological mechanisms underling these mental disorders. In this review, we focus on the literature works adopting neural networks fed by EEG signals. Among those studies using EEG and neural networks, we have discussed a variety of EEG based protocols, biomarkers and public datasets for depression and bipolar disorder detection. We conclude with a discussion and valuable recommendations that will help to improve the reliability of developed models and for more accurate and more deterministic computational intelligence based systems in psychiatry. This review will prove to be a structured and valuable initial point for the researchers working on depression and bipolar disorders recognition by using EEG signals.

'You should always look at the washing machine without actually being in it!' Thematic framework analysis of patients' understanding of transdiagnostic cognitive behaviour therapy and its mechanisms

OBJECTIVE

Transdiagnostic cognitive behaviour therapy (TCBT) is an efficacious treatment for anxiety and depression, but its mechanisms of change remain poorly understood. The current study used thematic framework analysis to analyse how patients, recruited in a recent trial on transdiagnostic group CBT (TGCBT), understood the treatment and its mechanisms.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional thematic framework analysis.

METHOD

The sample included 24 participants suffering from anxiety and/or depression, divided into two groups by treatment efficacy (i.e., group doing well and group doing not so well) in order to evaluate whether different understandings of the treatment affected its efficacy. The participants were interviewed and completed self-report measures. They were encouraged to discuss what they believed to be helpful and unhelpful in the TGCBT and what they believed to be the mechanisms of change in the treatment. Each interview was recorded, transcribed verbatim and themes were identified.

RESULTS

The analysis revealed four overarching themes and 18 subthemes. The overarching themes were as follows: Cognitive and behavioural flexibility, Awareness/understanding of symptoms and triggers, Therapeutic alliance and engagement, and finally Attitudes towards treatment. Four of the 18 subthemes corresponded to a differentiation between the groups: Cognitive flexibility and Comparison with others in the group on the one hand and Cognitive inflexibility and Negative attitudes towards treatment on the other.

CONCLUSION

The most important difference between the groups appeared to be CBT-specific, that is, cognitive flexibility that characterized the group doing well where thematic analysis did not indicate that other themes were important.

PRACTITIONER POINTS

Findings The analysis revealed four overarching themes and 18 subthemes, four of which corresponded to the difference between the two groups of participants based on treatment efficacy. The four differentiating subthemes were cognitive flexibility and comparison with others, which characterized the group doing well, and cognitive inflexibility and negative attitude towards treatment, which characterized the group doing less well. The theme evaluated as the most important for the efficacy of the transdiagnostic cognitive behaviour therapy and patients' understanding of the treatment was cognitive flexibility, which characterized the group doing well. Limitations Use of qualitative methodology restricts the generalizability of our results. Data are built on answers from only 24 participants.

Transdiagnostic psychiatry: a systematic review

The usefulness of current psychiatric classification, which is based on ICD/DSM categorical diagnoses, remains questionable. A promising alternative has been put forward as the "transdiagnostic" approach. This is expected to cut across existing categorical diagnoses and go beyond them, to improve the way we classify and treat mental disorders. This systematic review explores whether self-defining transdiagnostic research meets such high expectations. A multi-step Web of Science literature search was performed according to an a priori protocol, to identify all studies that used the word "transdiagnostic" in their title, up to May 5, 2018. Empirical variables which indexed core characteristics were extracted, complemented by a bibliometric and conceptual analysis. A total of 111 studies were included. Most studies were investigating interventions, followed by cognition and psychological processes, and neuroscientific topics. Their samples ranged from 15 to 91,199 (median 148) participants, with a mean age from 10 to more than 60 (median 33) years. There were several methodological inconsistencies relating to the definition of the gold standard (DSM/ICD diagnoses), of the outcome measures and of the transdiagnostic approach. The quality of the studies was generally low and only a few findings were externally replicated. The majority of studies tested transdiagnostic features cutting across different diagnoses, and only a few tested new classification systems beyond the existing diagnoses. About one fifth of the studies were not transdiagnostic at all, because they investigated symptoms and not disorders, a single disorder, or because there was no diagnostic information. The bibliometric analysis revealed that transdiagnostic research largely restricted its focus to anxiety and depressive disorders. The conceptual analysis showed that transdiagnostic research is grounded more on rediscoveries than on true innovations, and that it is affected by some conceptual biases. To date, transdiagnostic approaches have not delivered a credible paradigm shift that can impact classification and clinical care. Practical "TRANSD"iagnostic recommendations are proposed here to guide future research in this field.

[Effectiveness of psychological intervention by groups in Primary Care]

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to analyse the efficacy of a trans-diagnostic psychological therapy group aimed at reducing anxiety symptomatology. This was delivered within a Primary Care setting by clinical psychology.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

The assessment was completed through the outcome measure Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Short Form A (CORE-SFA). The intervention consisted of a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy group that delivered one session a week for 4 weeks. Components of this therapy included: psycho-education, cognitive restructuring, assertiveness training, sleep hygiene, problem solving, relaxation techniques, and time management. The data for this study was collected between January 2015 and October 2016, with a sample of 48 patients.

RESULTS

Results from the data collected demonstrated a statistically significant reduction of the anxiety symptomatology. Moreover, 79.2% of the sample was discharged from services following this group intervention.

CONCLUSIONS

The clinical implications of this study are discussed, supporting the efficacy of a trans-diagnostic Cognitive Behavioural Therapy group in a Primary Care setting for the treatment of symptoms of sub-clinical anxiety and depression.

Effects of Exercise on Depression and Anxiety. A Comparison to Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

The aims of this study were (i) to know the effects of an exercise program on a group of people with depression and anxiety and (ii) to compare theses effects with a transdiagnostic cognitive behavioral group therapy (TCBGT). The participants were 15 people with depression and/or anxiety symptoms. The participants followed an exercise program. Depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed with validated questionnaires. An exercise program can be used as a treatment option for people with depression and/or anxiety with good results in comparison with TCBGT.

Effects of a Brief Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioural Group Therapy on Disorder Specific Symptoms

Background:In recent years, cognitive behavioural group therapies (CBGT) have been increasingly deployed as a strategy to increase the efficiency and cost-effectiveness in treatment of common mental health problems. The vast majority of these therapies are disorder specific, but in the last few years there has been growing interest in transdiagnostic CBGT.Aims:The aim of this study was twofold: to evaluate the treatment effects of transdiagnostic CBGT on disorder specific symptoms and what (if any) differences would be observed in the treatment effects with regard to general as opposed to disorder specific symptoms measured pre- and post-treatment.Method:The participants were 233 adult patients diagnosed with depression and/or anxiety disorders. They underwent a 6-week transdiagnostic CBGT. To compare treatment effects on general and disorder specific symptoms, raw scores on all measures were converted to standardized scores.Results:Pre–post differences were significant and there was no evidence that treatment was differentially effective for general and disorder specific symptoms. Effect sizes ranged from medium to large.Conclusion:The 6-week transdiagnostic CBGT is feasible for a wide range of mood and anxiety disorders. The results indicate that low-intensity transdiagnostic group therapies may have similar effects on both general and disorder specific symptoms.

Psychological interventions for anxiety in adult primary care patients: A review and recommendations for future research

Anxiety symptoms are prevalent in primary care, yet treatment rates are low. The integration of behavioral health providers into primary care via the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) model offers a promising way to improve treatment options by adding a team member with the necessary skillset to deliver evidence-based psychological interventions for anxiety. We conducted a narrative review of psychological interventions for anxiety applied within adult primary care settings (k = 44) to update the literature and evaluate the fit of existing interventions with the PCBH model. The majority of studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs; 70.5%). Most interventions utilized cognitive-behavioral therapy (68.2%) and were delivered individually, face-to-face (52.3%). Overall, 65.9% of interventions (58.6% of RCTs, 91.7% of pre-post) were effective in reducing anxiety symptoms, and 83.3% maintained the gains at follow-up. Although it is encouraging that most interventions significantly reduced anxiety, their longer formats (i.e., number and duration of sessions) and narrow symptom targets make translation into practice difficult. Methodological limitations of the research included homogenous samples, failure to report key procedural details, pre-post designs, and restrictive eligibility criteria. We offer recommendations to guide future research to improve the likelihood of successful translation of anxiety interventions into clinical practice.

Transdiagnostische expositionsbasierte Behandlung von Angststörungen

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Neben störungsspezifischen Behandlungskonzepten werden in den letzten Jahren vermehrt transdiagnostische Behandlungsmanuale in der expositionsbasierten Behandlung von Ängsten und komorbiden Störungen eingesetzt. Die vorliegende narrative systematische Übersichtsarbeit beschreibt den Stand der Forschung zu transdiagnostischen Behandlungskonzepten in Hinsicht auf Angst- und komorbide Störungen. Methode: Die Literaturrecherche und die Datenanalyse wurden angelehnt an die PRISMA Guidelines vorgenommen. Die Ergebnisse von 17 Untersuchungen zu expositionsbasierten transdiagnostischen Behandlungskonzepten der letzten fünfzehn Jahre werden beschrieben. Ergebnisse: Die Resultate der referierten Studien zeigen, dass expositionsbasierte transdiagnostische Behandlungen die Symptome, sowohl der primären als auch der komorbiden Störungen, signifikant reduzieren. Expositionsbasierte transdiagnostische Konzepte sind effektiv zur Behandlungen von Angststörungen und komorbider Störungen. Sie stellen eine geeignete Alternative zu störungsspezifischen Behandlungen dar. Diskussion: Die Implikationen transdiagnostischer Konzepte für das praktische Vorgehen bei der individualisierten Diagnostik, der Vorbereitung und Durchführung von Expositionen werden erörtert. Schließlich werden Vorschläge für die Konzeptualisierung einer störungsübergreifenden Behandlung von Angststörungen, insbesondere solcher mit komorbider Symptomatik, vorgestellt.

Effectiveness of cognitive behaviour therapy for treatment-resistant depression with psychiatric comorbidity: comparison of individual versus group CBT in an interdisciplinary rehabilitation setting

BACKGROUND

Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective, yet there is a paucity of research on the differential effectiveness of individual and group CBT for adults with treatment-resistant depression with psychiatric comorbidity.

AIMS

To investigate the effectiveness of individual and group CBT for inpatients, in an interdisciplinary rehabilitation setting; the extent of psychiatric comorbidity; and who benefits the most from group CBT.

METHODS

All patients (n = 181) received 6 weeks of rehabilitation (treatment as usual, TAU). In addition, they were randomly allocated to group CBT (n = 86) or individual CBT (n = 59) combined with TAU, or TAU only (n = 36). All CBT therapists were part of an interdisciplinary team, had at least 1-year CBT training, and attended weekly supervision. The same CBT manual was used for individual and group therapy, providing 12 sessions, two per week. Groups had 12-15 participants and two therapists in each session.

RESULTS

Individual CBT was superior in efficacy to group CBT and TAU, with a large within-subject effect size (ES = 2.10). Group CBT was not superior to TAU. The benefits of treatment decreased over time, but remained large at 18-month follow-up for individual CBT (ES = 1.02), and medium for group CBT (ES = 0.46) and TAU (ES = 0.60).

CONCLUSIONS

Individual CBT was an effective addition to TAU and showed significant improvements in symptom severity post-treatment and at 18-month follow-up. Disorder severity and comorbidity may have decreased effectiveness of group therapy primarily aimed at depression.