NCT00970437

A Comparison of Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) and System of Supportive Psychotherapy (SYSP) for Early Onset Chronic Depression

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 268 (actual)
• Sponsor: University Hospital Freiburg · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 65 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to compare the efficacy of the Cognitive Behavioural Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP) with the non-specific System of Supportive Psychotherapy (SYSP)in early onset chronically depressives.

Detailed description

Effective treatment strategies for chronic depression are urgently needed since it is not only a common and particularly disabling disorder, but is also considered treatment resistant by most clinicians. There are only a few studies on chronic depression indicating that traditional interventions are not as effective as in acute, episodic depression. In addition, most of the studies had methodological weaknesses, such as the very short courses of psychotherapy. Usually, chronic depression begins early in life, is often associated with early interpersonal trauma, and results in an even more substantial human capital loss than the late-onset group. Furthermore, it shows a weak response to medication and a high rate of relapse after an initial response. With the present multicentre study, the efficacy of the only specific psychotherapy for chronic depression (Cognitive Behavioural Analysis System of Psychotherapy/CBASP) is compared with a non-specific System of Supportive Psychotherapy/SYSP in early onset chronically depressives. CBASP faired very well in one large trial but has never been directly compared to a non-specific psychotherapeutic control. Another innovative aspect of the study is the use of an extended course of psychotherapy (32 sessions). Primary hypothesis: CBASP is more effective in reducing depressive symptoms than SYSP. A naturalistic study following up the patients of the trial up to two years after termination of the study treatments is performed in order to investigate the long-term effectiveness of CBASP compared to the System of Supportive Psychotherapy. The primary outcome of this follow-up study is the rate of well-weeks (weeks with no or minimal depression symptoms) during the two years after termination of the study treatments as measured with the Longitudinal Interval Follow-up Evaluation (LIFE) Interview

Conditions

• Chronic Major Depressive Disorder

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy	Duration of intervention per patient: 20 weeks acute treatment (n=24 sessions) followed by 28 weeks of continuation treatment (n=8 sessions) Follow-up per patient: 48 weeks after randomisation
BEHAVIORAL	System of Supportive Psychotherapy	Duration of intervention per patient: 20 weeks acute treatment (n=24 sessions) followed by 28 weeks of continuation treatment (n=8 sessions) Follow-up per patient: 48 weeks after randomisation

Timeline

• Start date: 2010-04-01
• Primary completion: 2013-10-01
• Completion: 2014-12-01
• First posted: 2009-09-02
• Last updated: 2017-07-05

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Germany