Time to Response in Therapy for Body Dysmorphic Disorder: A Comparison of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Supportive Psychotherapy.

Psychotherapy has been shown to be effective for individuals with body dysmorphic disorder (BDD); however, time to treatment response for different treatments have not yet been examined. We randomized 120 patients to either weekly cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or supportive psychotherapy (SPT) at two academic medical research centers. In this secondary data analysis, we aimed to determine the time to first response (30% or greater reduction in BDD symptom severity) in both treatment conditions among those who attended at least one post-baseline assessment (n = 109). As previously reported, CBT for BDD was associated with more consistent improvement in symptom severity and quality of life than SPT. In a pooled analysis combining both sites, the median time to first response was shorter for CBT (76 days [10.9 weeks], 95% CI: 76-107 days) than for SPT (88 days [12.6 weeks], 95% CI: 88-nonestimable days; Χ2df=1 = 3.85, p = .0498). For CBT, the estimated 75th percentile response times were 148 days [21.1 weeks] at site 1 and 134 days [19.1 weeks] at site 2. Response times were not estimable for SPT at either site because the response rate was too low. Thus, therapy clients seeking treatment for BDD and clinicians should be aware that an initial treatment response requires more than 11 therapy sessions for the majority of clients, and that 21 or even more sessions may be required. Treatment response is likely to occur earlier with CBT for BDD (the first-line therapy for BDD) than with supportive psychotherapy.

Human Support in App-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapies for Emotional Disorders: Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: Smartphone app-based therapies offer clear promise for reducing the gap in available mental health care for people at risk for or people with mental illness. To this end, as smartphone ownership has become widespread, app-based therapies have become increasingly common. However, the research on app-based therapies is lagging behind. In particular, although experts suggest that human support may be critical for increasing engagement and effectiveness, we have little systematic knowledge about the role that human support plays in app-based therapy. It is critical to address these open questions to optimally design and scale these interventions. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to provide a scoping review of the use of human support or coaching in app-based cognitive behavioral therapy for emotional disorders, identify critical knowledge gaps, and offer recommendations for future research. Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most well-researched treatment for a wide range of concerns and is understood to be particularly well suited to digital implementations, given its structured, skill-based approach. METHODS: We conducted systematic searches of 3 databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, and Embase). Broadly, eligible articles described a cognitive behavioral intervention delivered via smartphone app whose primary target was an emotional disorder or problem and included some level of human involvement or support (coaching). All records were reviewed by 2 authors. Information regarding the qualifications and training of coaches, stated purpose and content of the coaching, method and frequency of communication with users, and relationship between coaching and outcomes was recorded. RESULTS: Of the 2940 titles returned by the searches, 64 (2.18%) were eligible for inclusion. This review found significant heterogeneity across all of the dimensions of coaching considered as well as considerable missing information in the published articles. Moreover, few studies had qualitatively or quantitatively evaluated how the level of coaching impacts treatment engagement or outcomes. Although users tend to self-report that coaching improves their engagement and outcomes, there is limited and mixed supporting quantitative evidence at present. CONCLUSIONS: Digital mental health is a young but rapidly expanding field with great potential to improve the reach of evidence-based care. Researchers across the reviewed articles offered numerous approaches to encouraging and guiding users. However, with the relative infancy of these treatment approaches, this review found that the field has yet to develop standards or consensus for implementing coaching protocols, let alone those for measuring and reporting on the impact. We conclude that coaching remains a significant hole in the growing digital mental health literature and lay out recommendations for future data collection, reporting, experimentation, and analysis.