Long-term effects of psychotherapy on moderate depression : a comparative study of narrative therapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy

摘要

Background: In a previous clinical controlled trial (Lopes et al., 2014), narrative therapy (NT) showedpromising results in ameliorating depressive symptoms with comparable outcomes to cognitivebehavioraltherapy (CBT) when patients completed treatment. This paper aims to assess depressivesymptoms and interpersonal problems in this clinical sample at follow-up.Methods: Using the Beck Depression Inventory-II and Outcome Questionnaire-45.2 InterpersonalRelations Scale, naturalistic prospective follow-up assessment was conducted at 21 and 31 months afterthe last treatment session.Results: At follow-up, patients kept improving in terms of depressive symptoms and interpersonalproblems. The odds that a patient maintained recovery from depressive symptoms at follow-up were fivetimes higher than the odds that a patient maintained recovery from interpersonal problems. In the sameway, the odds of a patient never recovering from interpersonal problems were five times higher than theodds of never recovering from depressive symptoms.Limitations: The study did not control for the natural course of depression or treatment continuation.Conclusions: For depressed patients with greater interpersonal disabilities, longer treatment plans andalternative continuation treatments should be considered.