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| Sun Oct 16, 2005 8:47 pm Phone Therapy Improved Depression in People with MS |
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Study: Phone Therapy Improved Depression in People with MS
October 11, 2005
Researchers report that, in a group of 127 people with MS and depression, participants showed significant improvements in depression during 16 weeks of two types of telephone-administered psychotherapy. David C. Mohr, PhD, and colleagues also found that cognitive-behavioral therapy (a structured therapy that teaches skills aimed at changing thoughts and behaviors that lead to depression) showed significantly greater improvements than a less structured therapy called supportive emotion-focused therapy (a therapy that encourages discussion of difficult feelings). The team reports their results in the September 2005 issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry (2005;62:1007-1014).
Participants were recruited with the assistance of local chapters of the National MS Society, and were randomized to a 16-week program of telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral or emotion-focused psychotherapy. Participants spoke with a psychologist for 50 minutes each week. Changes in depression and positive affect were evaluated using scales completed by evaluators via telephone, and also using patient self-report measures administered by mail. Dr. Mohr and colleagues assessed participants at the beginning of the study, week 8, week 16, and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months after completion of the program.
There were significant, lasting improvements on all measures, 12 months following the end of treatment. In all but one measure, improvements were significantly greater for people who were administered cognitive-behavioral therapy. However, these differences between the two types of treatment were no longer evident 12 months following the end of treatment. Seven participants (5.5%) dropped out of the therapies; this is significantly lower than dropout rates reported in studies of face-to-face psychotherapies for depression.
This study adds to growing evidence of the effectiveness of telephone-administered psychotherapies, say the authors. “To overcome geographic and other barriers to treatment and to save costs, many health maintenance organizations and care-providing institutions are expanding telemental health services, such as telephone-administered psychotherapies,” they write. However, “At the same time, many mental health specialists remain skeptical of telephone-delivered psychotherapy.”
Dr. Mohr and colleagues recommend further studies that explore if the outcomes of telephone-administered therapy are as effective as face-to-face interventions, and to confirm what appears to be a high rate of compliance with telephone-administered treatment.
-- Research & Clinical Programs |
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