This study is the first randomized controlled trial to rigorously test a follow-up approach to the treatment of comorbid PTSD and major depressive disorder.
Find out results from the trial of 52 patients undergoing three types of treatment – using Cognitive Process Therapy (CPT) only, using Behavioral Functional Therapy (BA) with some CPT, or CPT with some of BA – resulted in a significant treatment reduction in PTSD and major depressive disorder, with improvements sustained at six-month follow-up studies.
“We sought to investigate whether a protocol specifically targeting both PTSD and comorbid depression would be beneficial to those with this dual diagnosis compared to a protocol targeting PTSD alone , ”says Dr. Reg Nixon, Flinders PTSD research expert.
“With some qualifications, the answer to this question is in the case of CPT and BA.”
The findings – “Comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder: The need for a linear approach within randomized design,” by Samantha Angelakis, Nathan Weber, and Reg Nixon – were published in the Journal of Anxiety Disorders.
He found that the reductions in depressive symptoms that occur when PTSD symptoms are targeted early in treatment are confirmed when closely followed by behavioral activity.
“While the conclusions need to be repeated, our observation that, when depression was targeted prior to PTSD, these people did not produce as well as those in the other conditions show that there could be a cost to delaying or eliminating PTSD targets over symptoms of depression, ”says Dr. Nixon.
“It is difficult to deal with someone’s trauma, but our findings show that trying to be ‘easier’ may not be the way to go. working on depression initially helping clients as much as people would expect. “
The researchers also noted that CPT alone, with no modifications, still showed positive results in this comorbid sample.
“Our clinical view at this time is that when individuals with PTSD and MDD should be present for the treatment of PTSD, CPT should be delivered first.”
Those with higher levels of depression showed a change from treatment than those with lower levels of depression. Although the symptoms tended to remain higher in those people after treatment than those with lower levels of depression, the findings showed that those with depression levels still benefited. from treatment.
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Magazine Reference:
Angelakis, S., et al. (2020) Comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder and major depressive disorder: The need for a linear approach within a randomized design. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102324.