Patient demographics and psychological functioning as predictors of unilateral termination of psychodynamic therapy.

Approximately one in five patients drops out of treatment before its completion. Little is known about consistent predictors of dropout, and most studies focus on patients' demographic characteristics. A mass of information is collected daily at intake in clinical practice. Based on psychodynamic theoretical conceptualizations and accumulative clinical experience, this information may help predict dropout, and thereby expand the empirically based predictors of dropout. OBJECTIVE: The present study aims at bridging between scientific research and clinical practice by investigating potential predictors of unilateral termination collected at intake, before therapy, in addition to predictors already identified in the literature. METHOD: The study was based on data from 413 patients from a university consulting center. Each patient completed a pre-intake questionnaire collecting demographic information, and underwent an interview conducted by a professional intaker. RESULTS: Results indicate that the consistent predictors described in the literature, education, and age, were related to unilateral termination rates. Additionally, lower intrapsychic functionality, as evaluated by the intakers, was also found to contribute uniquely to higher unilateral termination rates. CONCLUSION: This finding attests to the unique value of professional evaluations of patients' intrapsychic functionality, frequently conducted in clinical practice, to detect patients at risk of unilateral termination of treatment.

Reducing Dropout in Treatment for Depression: Translating Dropout Predictors Into Individualized Treatment Recommendations.

OBJECTIVE: Premature discontinuation of therapy is a widespread problem that hampers the delivery of mental health treatment. A high degree of variability has been found among rates of premature treatment discontinuation, suggesting that rates may differ depending on potential moderators. In the current study, our aim was to identify demographic and interpersonal variables that moderate the association between treatment assignment and dropout. METHODS: Data from a randomized controlled trial conducted from November 2001 through June 2007 (N = 156) comparing supportive-expressive therapy, antidepressant medication, and placebo for the treatment of depression (based on DSM-IV criteria) were used. Twenty prerandomization variables were chosen based on previous literature. These variables were subjected to exploratory bootstrapped variable selection and included in the logistic regression models if they passed variable selection. RESULTS: Three variables were found to moderate the association between treatment assignment and dropout: age, pretreatment therapeutic alliance expectations, and the presence of vindictive tendencies in interpersonal relationships. When patients were divided into those randomly assigned to their optimal treatment and those assigned to their least optimal treatment, dropout rates in the optimal treatment group (24.4%) were significantly lower than those in the least optimal treatment group (47.4%; P = .03). CONCLUSIONS: Present findings suggest that a patient's age and pretreatment interpersonal characteristics predict the association between common depression treatments and dropout rate. If validated by further studies, these characteristics can assist in reducing dropout through targeted treatment assignment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Secondary analysis of data from ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT00043550.