INTEGRATIVE GROUP TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION

Butler Hospital (Providence, Ri), Providence RI

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The overall aim of this research is to develop a time-limited group psychotherapy for the treatment of major depression. While there are currently several well-validated psychosocial treatments for depression, these treatments have significant limitations in terms of transportability, cost, and efficacy. In order to address these issues, group treatments have been proposed as cost-effective alternatives to individual psychotherapies. However, recent reviews of the literature suggest that current empirically-validated group treatments provide only limited improvement over individual treatment. The goal of this research is to develop a cost-effective group treatment for depression. The proposed integrated therapy program includes group, individual and family treatment (GIFT) within a structured, time-limited, coping-based model. The current proposal is designed to develop the GIFT treatment program for depression. The goal of this research will first be to, a) develop a integrative group therapy (GIFT) treatment program for depressed patients; b) develop and implement a therapist training program; c) develop and evaluate the reliability and validity of competence and adherence rating scales; and d) to conduct a pilot trial investigating the short-term efficacy of the GIFT program versus Placebo. This pilot work will lay the groundwork for a larger treatment outcome study for depressed patients evaluating this treatment program.