NCT02938559

Can the Memory Support Intervention Improve Depression Outcome Following Cognitive Therapy?

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 178 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of California, Berkeley · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The aim of this study protocol is to conduct a confirmatory efficacy trial to test whether the Memory Support Intervention improves illness course and functional outcomes in major depressive disorder (MDD) and cognitive therapy (CT).

Detailed description

Background. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent psychiatric disorders and a leading cause of disability worldwide. Existing therapies fail to produce complete recovery. Progress toward improving outcome must include innovations that are safe, powerful, inexpensive and simple (for fast and effective dissemination). The proposed research seeks to test one such innovation. The investigators seek to improve outcome by improving memory for the content of cognitive therapy (CT) sessions. CT is one of the most promising approaches to the treatment of MDD, yet there is room for improvement. It is proposed that adding memory enhancing strategies to CT may improve MDD outcome because: (a) MDD is often characterized by memory impairment, (b) there is evidence that the memory impairment is modifiable, (c) CT typically entails the activation of emotion, (d) emotion can impair or bias memory and (e) there is evidence that memory for the content of therapy sessions is poor. Hence, the overall goal is to evaluate if integrating strategies designed to enhance memory for the content of CT sessions improves treatment outcome for MDD. Cognitive support involves a series of specific procedures that support the encoding and retrieval stages of an episodic memory. It is hypothesized that CT+Memory Support, relative to CT-as-usual, will be associated with improved illness course and functional outcome at the end of treatment as well as 6 and 12 months post-treatment.

Conditions

• Depressive Disorder, Major

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Cognitive Therapy (CT) for depression	There is evidence that CT for major depressive disorder (MDD) can be as effective as antidepressant medication for the initial treatment of moderate to severe MDD. Moreover, following the withdrawal of treatment, patients treated with CT are significantly less likely to relapse than patients treated with antidepressant medication and CT is at least as effective as antidepressant medication in preventing subsequent relapse. CT aims to alter the symptomatic expression of depression and reduce risk for subsequent episodes by correcting the negative beliefs and maladaptive information processing presumed to underlie the disorder and alter the systematic tendency to misperceive reality in a pessimistic fashion.
BEHAVIORAL	Cognitive Therapy (CT) for depression + Memory Support	The Memory Support Intervention will be delivered interwoven with CT. The Memory Support Intervention is designed to improve patient memory for treatment and involves a series of specific procedures that support the encoding and retrieval stages of episodic memory. It is comprised of eight memory promoting strategies: attention recruitment, categorization, evaluation, application, repetition, practice remembering, cued-based reminder and praise recall. These strategies are proactively, strategically and intensively integrated into treatment-as-usual to support encoding. Memory support is delivered alongside each 'treatment point', defined as a main idea, principle, or experience that the treatment provider wants the patient to remember or implement as part of the treatment.

Timeline

• Start date: 2016-11-01
• Primary completion: 2020-08-05
• Completion: 2020-08-05
• First posted: 2016-10-19
• Last updated: 2021-02-02

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States