A randomized controlled trial examining the impact of aged care residents' written life-stories on aged care staff knowledge and attitudes.

ABSTRACTBackground:The unprecedented increase in the number of older adults moving into aged care facilities has created a challenge for quality person-centered care service provision. This study examined the impact of written life-stories on knowledge and attitudes of care staff about the residents when compared to usual file notes. METHODS: A randomized controlled study was carried out with 40 staff working in an aged care residential facility. Staff were randomly assigned to a control condition, in which they read file notes (n = 21) or to an experimental condition, in which they read life stories (n = 19) about residents who they knew, and completed the Knowledge of Resident Scale (KRS) before and after their assigned reading. RESULTS: A main effect for time was found for eight of the ten questions on the KRS, suggesting that irrespective of whether a participant read life stories or file notes, there was a significantly positive impact on knowledge and attitudes toward residents. However, significantly greater improvement was shown for one item on the KRS in the experimental condition when compared to the control condition, indicating that historical knowledge of residents was greater when staff read life stories than when they read file notes, F (1,38) = 6.50, p = 0.02. CONCLUSION: These results provide preliminary evidence that knowledge and attitudes of care staff can increase about the residents for whom they care following reading file notes and life stories. The increase is similar, except in the area of historical information, where it is greater for the group who read life stories.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Older Adults With Anxiety and Cognitive Impairment: Adaptations and Illustrative Case Study.

Anxiety is a prevalent condition in older adults with neurocognitive disorders such as dementia. Interventions based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) appear to be an emerging area of treatment innovation for treating anxiety in older adults with cognitive impairment. Drawing on the empirical literature on CBT for late-life anxiety and recent trials of CBT for anxiety in persons with mild-to-moderate dementia, this article provides an overview of the customization of CBT to the needs of older adults with anxiety and cognitive impairment. Adaptations for assessment, case conceptualization, socialization, therapeutic alliance, and treatment strategies are discussed. A case study to illustrate implementation of these adaptations is presented. Limitations to the current state of the literature on the efficacy and feasibility of CBT for anxiety in older adults with cognitive impairment are identified, and future directions for treatment research are proposed.

Integrating Web-Based Applications into Aged Care: Two Case Studies and Discussion.

In anticipation of the growing need for adequate mental health care for older adults in residential aged care facilities, psychologists are challenged to overcome several barriers that impede the uptake and delivery of their services in such settings. Information and communication technologies (ICT) have strong potential to overcome some of these barriers by supporting the delivery of evidence-based psychosocial treatments for common psychogeriatric issues. This paper presents two case studies that illustrate when and how psychologists can use various ICT applications (e.g., tablet devices, web-based applications) integrated with cognitive behavioural and reminiscence-based therapies. Both case studies demonstrate that ICT can effectively support the therapeutic alliance, enhance therapeutic engagement, and individualize treatment delivery to accommodate the needs of elderly patients. It is hoped that these case studies will encourage clinicians to consider using ICT to augment therapy with their elderly patients.

Self-Ambivalence in the Cognitive-Behavioural Treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Despite emerging interest in the role of self-concept in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), current research has failed to consider the role of self-perceptions in the cognitive-behavioural treatment of OCD. This study examined the relationship between ambivalence about self-worth and treatment outcomes in patients diagnosed with OCD. METHODS: Sixty-two volunteers (59.7% female, mean age = 36.05 years, standard deviation, SD = 11.58) with a primary diagnosis of OCD were assigned to 16 sessions of face-to-face cognitive-behavioural treatment delivered in an individual format. Symptom severity, self-ambivalence, depressive symptoms and anxiety were measured using self-report measures at 5 time points: prewaitlist, pretreatment, midtreatment, posttreatment and 6- month follow-up. RESULTS: All variables improved significantly at the posttreatment compared to the earlier time points, inclusive of OCD severity and self-ambivalence, and improvements were maintained at follow-up. As revealed through a series of logistical and stepwise regression analyses, controlling for various pretreatment levels of symptom severity and/or changes in mood severity, pre-post changes in self-ambivalence were predictive of lower posttreatment OCD severity and recovery from OCD. Of particular note, participants who changed by 1 SD in self-ambivalence were 2.5-3.9 times more likely to be recovered in OCD symptoms at the posttreatment time point, depending on what factors were entered first in the regression analysis. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that resolution of self-ambivalence predicts positive treatment outcomes in the cognitive-behavioural treatment of OCD. Assisting patients resolve self-ambivalence may be an important target in the psychological treatment of OCD.

Back to basics: could behavioural therapy be a good treatment option for youth depression? A critical review.

AIM: Recent findings from systematic reviews and primary research studies have shown more modest effects of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for youth depression than previously shown, highlighting the need to further enhance the effectiveness of this intervention, or components of this intervention. Therefore, the aim of this review is to summarize the work that has been done to identify the different components of CBT and their varying effectiveness for young people with depression. METHODS: Narrative overview of English language reviews/meta-analyses and primary intervention studies retrieved from searches of computerized databases as well as ancestry searches. RESULTS: Reviews of intervention studies of adults as well as young people with depression have shown that behavioural approaches are equally as effective as cognitive approaches in reducing depression symptoms. Post-hoc analyses of large studies in youth depression have also shown that behavioural approaches might be more suitable for young people. CONCLUSIONS: Behaviourally based approaches appear promising in treating youth depression; however, further research is required. This research will represent an essential step towards refining interventions for youth depression, and enabling interventions to be targeted to particular subgroups, to optimize their effectiveness.

Introduction of a university-based counselling service for older adults.

AIM: Despite the growing number of older adults in Australia, many do not access counselling, partly because of the lack of trained mental health professionals for older people. This paper describes an innovative solution for providing counselling services to older adults, and geropsychology training to postgraduate psychology students. METHOD: A university-based counselling clinic for older adults was described ­ an outreach service for older adults living in the community or in residential aged care facilities in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia. RESULTS: Over its first 13 months, the clinic provided a total of 266 sessions of counselling to 57 clients (41 living in residential aged care), and involved six postgraduate students. CONCLUSION: This paper describes the potential benefits of the clinic for clients and students and the resources needed to support this model of service delivery. Thus, it provides a blueprint for other universities for developing similar services for older adults.

Recruiting older men for geriatric suicide research.

BACKGROUND: Clinical research is required to develop and evaluate suicide prevention interventions in the elderly. However, there is insufficient information available about how to best recruit suicidal older adults for such research. This study evaluated the success and efficiency of five recruitment strategies for a clinical trial on the efficacy of cognitive therapy for suicidal older men. METHODS: For each strategy, the numbers of individuals approached, screened, and enrolled were calculated, and the expenses and time associated with each enrollment estimated. Men who were 60 years or older and who had a desire for suicide over the past month were eligible for the trial. RESULTS: Of 955 individuals considered for trial, 33 were enrolled. Most enrollments were sourced from the Veterans Affairs Behavioral Health Laboratory. Recruiting form this source was also the most time and cost efficient recruitment strategy in the study. CONCLUSIONS: Recruitment strategies are effective when they are based on collaborative relationships between researchers and providers, and utilize an existing infrastructure for involving patients in ongoing research opportunities.

Beliefs and personality disorders: an overview of the personality beliefs questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE: This article presents an overview of the Personality Beliefs Questionnaire (PBQ)--a 126-item self-report measure of beliefs associated with 10 personality disorders. DESIGN: It consolidates the literature on the PBQ over the last 20 years to provide a summary of the psychometric status, revisions and applications of the PBQ scales. RESULTS: The PBQ scales are psychometrically reliable (α = 77-94, test-retest stability r=.57-.93) and discriminate between individuals with and without a specific personality disorder. Two revisions have been made to the measure: A 14-item subscale measuring beliefs central to borderline personality disorder has been identified, and a short form version of the PBQ has been validated. The PBQ has been used to measure cognitive mechanisms of treatment outcomes, and has been found to be sensitive to changes in beliefs. CONCLUSIONS: Given the proposed shift in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fifth Edition (DSM-5) to a dimensional conceptualization of psychological components of personality dysfunction, the PBQ is likely to remain relevant and useful for identifying such components in individuals with personality disorders.

Helping smokers with depression to quit smoking: collaborative care with Quitline.

OBJECTIVES: To report smokers' evaluations and uptake of Quitline-doctor comanagement of smoking cessation and depression, a key component of the Victorian Quitline's tailored call-back service for smokers with a history of depression and to explore its relationship to quitting success. DESIGN, PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: Prospective study followed Quitline clients disclosing doctor-diagnosed depression (n = 227). Measures were taken at baseline (following initial Quitline call), posttreatment (2 months) and 6 months from recruitment (77% and 70% response rates, respectively). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Uptake of comanagement (initiated by fax-referral to Quitline), making a quit attempt (quit for 24 hours), sustained cessation (> 4 months at 6-month follow-up). RESULTS: At 2-month follow-up, 83% thought it was a good idea to involve their doctor in their quit attempt, 74% had discussed quitting with their doctor, and 43% had received comanagement. In all, 72% made a quit attempt, 37% and 33% were abstinent posttreatment and at 6 months, respectively, and 20% achieved sustained cessation. Among participants who discussed quitting with their doctor, those receiving comanagement were more likely to make a quit attempt than those who did not receive comanagement (78% v 63%). Participants with comanagement also received more Quitline calls (mean 4.6 v 3.1) - a predictor of sustained cessation. Exacerbation of depression between baseline and 6 months was reported by 18% of participants but was not related to cessation outcome. CONCLUSION: Quitline-doctor comanagement of smoking cessation and depression is workable, is valued by smokers, and increases the probability of quit attempts. Smoking cessation did not increase the risk of exacerbation of depression.

Is longer-term psychodynamic psychotherapy more effective than shorter-term therapies? Review and critique of the evidence.

BACKGROUND: In 2008, Leichsenring and Rabung performed a meta-analysis of 8 studies of longer-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (LTPP). The work was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (vol. 300, pp 1551-1565), and they concluded that LTPP was more effective than shorter-term therapies. METHOD: Given that such claims have the potential to influence treatment decisions and policies, we re-examined the meta-analysis and the 8 studies. RESULTS: We found a miscalculation of the effect sizes used to make key comparisons. Claims for the effectiveness of LTPP depended on a set of small, underpowered studies that were highly heterogeneous in terms of patients treated, interventions, comparison-control groups, and outcomes. LTPP was compared to 12 types of comparison-controls, including control groups that did not involve any psychotherapy, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy, and unvalidated treatments. Additionally, the studies failed to protect against threats to bias, and had poor internal validity. CONCLUSION: Overall, we found no evidence to support claims of superiority of LTPP over shorter-term methods of psychotherapy.

Training and Consultation in Evidence-Based Psychosocial Treatments in Public Mental Health Settings: The ACCESS Model.

We present a model of training in evidence-based psychosocial treatments (EBTs). The ACCESS (assess and adapt, convey basics, consult, evaluate, study outcomes, sustain) model integrates principles and findings from adult education and training literatures, research, and practical suggestions based on a community-based clinician training program. Descriptions of the steps are provided as a means of guiding implementation efforts and facilitating training partnerships between public mental health agencies and practitioners of EBTs.

Dysfunctional beliefs and psychopathology in Borderline Personality Disorder.

This study examined the factor structure of the Borderline Personality Disorder subscale of the Personality Beliefs Questionnaire (PBQ-BPD; Butler, Brown, Beck, & Grisham, 2002), and the relationships between the emergent factors and psychopathology. The sample comprised 184 patients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD). Exploratory factor analysis yielded three factors relating respectively to dependency, distrust, and the belief that one should act preemptively to avoid threat. Although the three factors were significantly associated with depression, only dependency and distrust significantly correlated with hopelessness. Distrust was the sole factor that correlated significantly with suicide ideation. These findings support the dimensional structure of the PBQ-BPD. Given its multidimensional structure, the scale can be used as a measure of belief profiles associated with BPD and as an aid to conceptualizing beliefs underlying a range of psychopathology associated with patients with BPD.

Sequence of improvement in depressive symptoms across cognitive therapy and pharmacotherapy.

BACKGROUND: The authors examined the patterns of improvement in cognitive and vegetative symptoms of major depression in individuals treated with cognitive therapy (CT) or pharmacotherapy (PT). METHOD: Outpatients diagnosed with major depressive disorder (n=180) were randomized to receive either CT or PT. Cognitive and vegetative symptoms of major depression were measured by the Beck Depression Inventory-II at baseline and regularly throughout 16 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: Multivariate hierarchical linear modeling demonstrated the same patterns of change over time for cognitive and vegetative symptoms within CT and within PT. LIMITATIONS: Self-report measures may not be sufficiently specific to capture subtle differences in improvements between vegetative and cognitive symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: These results are consistent with Beck's [Beck, A.T., 1984, November. Cognition and theory [Letter to the editor]. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry 41, 1112-1114.] hypothesis that CT and PT have a similar site of action, which when targeted, results in changes in both cognitive and vegetative features.

An investigation of self-ambivalence in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Individuals vulnerable to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) are hypothesized to have ambivalence about their self-worth, morality and lovability [Guidano, V., & Liotti, G. (1983). Cognitive processes and emotional disorders. New York: Guildford Press]. The purpose of this study was to examine whether self-ambivalence was associated with OCD phenomena and beliefs relevant to OCD. It also examined whether patients with OCD had higher levels of self-ambivalence compared to non-clinical controls and patients with other anxiety disorders. Participants were 73 OCD patients, 50 patients with another anxiety disorder, 225 non-clinical undergraduate students and 43 non-clinical community controls. They completed measures of self-ambivalence, OCD phenomena, OCD-relevant beliefs, depression, anxiety and self-esteem. Self-ambivalence was significantly associated with OCD phenomena and OCD-relevant beliefs, after controlling for self-esteem, depression and anxiety. Further, OCD participants were significantly more ambivalent than the non-clinical groups, but did not differ from anxious controls. It was argued that these results provide a basis for extending the cognitive-behavioural model of OCD to include ambivalent self-perceptions as a component of the cognitive mechanisms relevant to the disorder.