A Randomized Trial of Interpersonal Psychotherapy and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder : Predictors of process and outcome

Sammanfattning: Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT) and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) are both evidence-based treatments for Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Several head-to-head comparisons between these methods have been made, most of them in the US. There is a need for more trials in different treatment settings. This thesis is based on a randomized controlled trial of CBT and IPT for MDD in a community-based psychiatric outpatient clinic. In the trial, treatment outcome and mentalization change was compared between the methods. In addition, the significance of pre-treatment mentalization for subsequent alliance and outcome was analyzed. Ninety-six patients, about half of them with personality disorders, were randomized to 14 sessions of CBT or IPT. The hypothesis was that IPT would not be inferior to CBT which was confirmed. CBT had a significantly higher drop-out rate. Initial capacity for mentalization predicted alliance and outcome in both IPT and CBT. The level of mentalization was changed in IPT but not in CBT