scholarly journals Intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy provided by novice psychotherapists: effects on symptomatology and psychological structure in patients with anxiety disorders

Author(s):  
Diego Rocco ◽  
Vincenzo Calvo ◽  
Vito Agrosì ◽  
Francesca Bergami ◽  
Luce Maria Busetto ◽  
...  

This study examines the effectiveness of psychotherapy provided by novice therapists, in an attempt to clarify the controversial relationship between treatment effectiveness and therapist experience. To achieve this, we examined the short- and long-term effectiveness of intensive short-term dynamic psychotherapy (ISTDP) in the treatment of patients with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder, IV edition - Text Revision anxiety disorders, as provided by novice psychology trainees. Twenty-two patients with anxiety disorders were provided ISTDP. Patients improved significantly on all outcome indices, including the global assessment of functioning, the symptom checklist and the inventory of interpersonal problems, at the end of the treatment and at 6 and 12 month follow-up. In addition to these results, there was marked structural personality change as evidenced by ratings on the Shedler Westen assessment procedure (SWAP-200), at the same assessment moments; the SWAP-200 psychological health index score showed a meaningful increase in adaptive psychological resources and capacities, while the mean number of personality diagnoses decreased from the beginning to the end of therapy, and all patients maintaining their gains in 6-12 month follow-up. We conclude that ISTDP provided by novice psychotherapists is efficacious in bringing broad and in-depth change to pathology that can perpetuate anxiety disorders and other psychiatric conditions.

2001 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Junkert-Tress ◽  
U. Schnierda ◽  
N. Hartkamp ◽  
N. Schmitz ◽  
W. Tress

2009 ◽  
Vol 21 (6) ◽  
pp. 1148-1159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josien Schuurmans ◽  
Hannie Comijs ◽  
Paul M. G. Emmelkamp ◽  
Ingrid J. C. Weijnen ◽  
Marcel van den Hout ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackground: Although anxiety disorders are prevalent in older adults, randomized controlled trials of treatment effectiveness for late-life anxiety are scarce and have focused primarily on the effectiveness of psychotherapeutic interventions. However, recent findings suggest that in some cases, pharmacological treatment may be more beneficial for late-life anxiety disorders. As yet, there have been no systematic studies investigating prognostic factors for the outcome of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy for late-life anxiety. The objective of the present study was to study long-term treatment outcomes and to explore differential predictors for both short-term and long-term treatment outcomes of sertraline and CBT for late-life anxiety disorders.Methods: Participants of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing sertraline and CBT for the treatment of late-life anxiety were contacted one year after completing their treatment, so that predictors for both short-term and long-term treatment outcome could be established.Results: Sertraline showed a greater reduction of symptoms than CBT on anxiety (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale; HARS) and worry (Worry Domain Questionnaire) ratings at one-year follow-up. The strongest predictor for short-term CBT outcome was poor perceived health, explaining 40% of the variance in post-treatment residual gain scores on the HARS. The strongest predictor for long-term CBT outcome was neuroticism, explaining 20% of the variance in residual gain scores at one-year follow-up. Analyses revealed no significant predictors for treatment outcome in sertraline participants.Conclusions: Our study suggests that long-term use of sertraline might be more beneficial for late-life anxiety than a 15-week CBT program. Poor perceived health and neuroticism are predictive of less improvement after CBT in anxious older adults. Implications of these findings are discussed.


2016 ◽  
Vol 190 ◽  
pp. 254-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Maljanen ◽  
Paul Knekt ◽  
Olavi Lindfors ◽  
Esa Virtala ◽  
Päivi Tillman ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. A62
Author(s):  
T. Maljanen ◽  
T. Härkänen ◽  
E. Virtala ◽  
O. Lindfors ◽  
P. Tillman ◽  
...  

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 117954411878108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brent Shaw ◽  
Marc Darrow ◽  
Armen Derian

Background: Preliminary research suggests that bone marrow concentrate (BMC), which contains mesenchymal stem cells and platelets, is a promising treatment for knee osteoarthritis. The aim of this study was to build on this preliminary research by reporting the short-term progress of 15 patients (20 knees) with knee osteoarthritis through 4 BMC treatments. Methods: Patients underwent four sequential BMC treatments with mean injection times of 13.80 days after the first treatment, 21.40 days after the second treatment, and 33.50 days after the third treatment. The last follow-up was conducted a mean 86 days after the first treatment. Baseline and posttreatment outcomes of resting pain, active pain, lower functionality scale, and overall improvement percentage were compared after each treatment. Results: Patients experienced statistically significant improvements in active pain and functionality score after the first treatment. Additionally, patients experienced a mean decrease in resting pain after the first treatment, yet outcomes were not statistically significant until after the second treatment. On average, patients experienced an 84.31% decrease in resting pain, a 61.95% decrease in active pain, and a 55.68% increase in functionality score at the final follow-up. Patients also reported a mean 67% total overall improvement at study conclusion. Outcomes at the final follow-up after the fourth treatment were statistically significant compared to outcomes at baseline, after first treatment, after second treatment, and after third treatment. Conclusions: These results are promising, and additional research with a larger sample size and longer follow-up is needed to further examine the treatment effectiveness of multiple BMC injections for knee osteoarthritis.


2007 ◽  
Vol 38 (5) ◽  
pp. 689-703 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Knekt ◽  
O. Lindfors ◽  
T. Härkänen ◽  
M. Välikoski ◽  
E. Virtala ◽  
...  

BackgroundInsufficient evidence exists for a viable choice between long- and short-term psychotherapies in the treatment of psychiatric disorders. The present trial compares the effectiveness of one long-term therapy and two short-term therapies in the treatment of mood and anxiety disorders.MethodIn the Helsinki Psychotherapy Study, 326 out-patients with mood (84.7%) or anxiety disorder (43.6%) were randomly assigned to three treatment groups (long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, and solution-focused therapy) and were followed up for 3 years from start of treatment. Primary outcome measures were depressive symptoms measured by self-report Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and observer-rated Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), and anxiety symptoms measured by self-report Symptom Check List Anxiety Scale (SCL-90-Anx) and observer-rated Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA).ResultsA statistically significant reduction of symptoms was noted for BDI (51%), HAMD (36%), SCL-90-Anx (41%) and HAMA (38%) during the 3-year follow-up. Short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy was more effective than long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy during the first year, showing 15–27% lower scores for the four outcome measures. During the second year of follow-up no significant differences were found between the short-term and long-term therapies, and after 3 years of follow-up long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy was more effective with 14–37% lower scores for the outcome variables. No statistically significant differences were found in the effectiveness of the short-term therapies.ConclusionsShort-term therapies produce benefits more quickly than long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy but in the long run long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy is superior to short-term therapies. However, more research is needed to determine which patients should be given long-term psychotherapy for the treatment of mood or anxiety disorders.


2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (S1) ◽  
pp. 1-1
Author(s):  
K. Joutsenniemi ◽  
O. Lindfors ◽  
M. Laaksonen ◽  
P. Haaramo ◽  
P. Knekt

Background:Demographic factors have been shown to predict the outcome of short-term psychotherapy in the treatment of depressive and anxiety disorders. So far, however, information on the prediction for long- term therapy is missing. to be able to choose an optimal psychotherapy length for the patient, it is essential to know, which demographic factors predict different outcome in short- and long-term therapy.Aim:To compare the prediction of demographic factors on changes in psychiatric symptoms in short- and long-term psychotherapy.Methods:In the Helsinki Psychotherapy Study, 326 psychiatric outpatients, aged 20-46 years, and suffering from depressive or anxiety disorders, were randomly assigned to short-term therapy (short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy or solution-focused therapy combined) or long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy. the demographic factors (i.e. age, gender, education, income, and living arrangement) were assessed at baseline by a questionnaire. Psychiatric symptoms were assessed with the Symptom Check List, Global Severity Index (SCL-90-GSI) at baseline and 7 times during a 3-year follow-up.Results:Demographic factors were found to predict symptom development during follow-up irrespective of baseline symptom level. Female gender, being aged 25 or more, living with a spouse/partner, high education, and medium level personal income predicted benefiting sufficiently from short-term therapy, whereas being aged under 25, medium education, and living with other(s) than a partner or child(ren) predicted the need of long-term therapy.Conclusions:Demographic factors may be a useful tool in the selection of patients for short- and long term therapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 1039-1052
Author(s):  
Reva M. Zimmerman ◽  
JoAnn P. Silkes ◽  
Diane L. Kendall ◽  
Irene Minkina

Purpose A significant relationship between verbal short-term memory (STM) and language performance in people with aphasia has been found across studies. However, very few studies have examined the predictive value of verbal STM in treatment outcomes. This study aims to determine if verbal STM can be used as a predictor of treatment success. Method Retrospective data from 25 people with aphasia in a larger randomized controlled trial of phonomotor treatment were analyzed. Digit and word spans from immediately pretreatment were run in multiple linear regression models to determine whether they predict magnitude of change from pre- to posttreatment and follow-up naming accuracy. Pretreatment, immediately posttreatment, and 3 months posttreatment digit and word span scores were compared to determine if they changed following a novel treatment approach. Results Verbal STM, as measured by digit and word spans, did not predict magnitude of change in naming accuracy from pre- to posttreatment nor from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment. Furthermore, digit and word spans did not change from pre- to posttreatment or from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment in the overall analysis. A post hoc analysis revealed that only the less impaired group showed significant changes in word span scores from pretreatment to 3 months posttreatment. Discussion The results suggest that digit and word spans do not predict treatment gains. In a less severe subsample of participants, digit and word span scores can change following phonomotor treatment; however, the overall results suggest that span scores may not change significantly. The implications of these findings are discussed within the broader purview of theoretical and empirical associations between aphasic language and verbal STM processing.


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