Behavioral activation therapy for return to work in medication-responsive chronic depression with persistent psychosocial dysfunction.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic depression is associated with significant impairment in work functioning, relationships, and health. Such impairment often persists following medication-induced remission of depressive symptoms. We adapted and tested Behavioral Activation therapy with a goal of return to work (BA-W) in subjects with chronic depression who had responded to medication treatment but remained unemployed. METHOD: Sixteen adults aged 18-65 with DSM-IV diagnosed Dysthymic Disorder or chronic Major Depression were recruited from clinical trials taking place at the New York State Psychiatric Institute between 4/2009 and 12/2012 and enrolled in 12 weeks of individual manual-driven BA-W. Functioning was measured at intake, post-treatment and at 24 week follow-up. RESULTS: Eighty-seven percent (n=14) of subjects completed the full 12 weeks of BA-W. Hours of work related activity (p<.005, d=0.83), hours of paid work (p<.0003, d=0.54), and work productivity (p<.0004, d=-0.48) increased significantly over the study period. Earned income increased post-treatment (p=.068) with significant changes by 24 week follow-up (p=.011). Secondary outcomes including behavioral avoidance (p<.004, d=-0.56), and global functioning (p<.0003, d=1.42) were also significantly improved post-treatment. Effect sizes, including for outcomes with non-significant changes, were generally in the range of 0.5-0.8. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study provides preliminary evidence of the efficacy of a work-targeted psychotherapy to remediate vocational impairment in subjects with chronic depression. Data suggests that further testing of BA-W using a randomized controlled trial is warranted and may represent a significant advance in treatment for the residual disability present after successful pharmacotherapy.

Examining the reliability and validity of clinician ratings on the Five-Factor Model Score Sheet.

Despite substantial research use, measures of the five-factor model (FFM) are infrequently used in clinical settings due, in part, to issues related to administration time and a reluctance to use self-report instruments. The current study examines the reliability and validity of the Five-Factor Model Score Sheet (FFMSS), which is a 30-item clinician rating form designed to assess the five domains and 30 facets of one conceptualization of the FFM. Studied in a sample of 130 outpatients, clinical raters demonstrated reasonably good interrater reliability across personality profiles and the domains manifested good internal consistency with the exception of Neuroticism. The FFMSS ratings also evinced expected relations with self-reported personality traits (e.g., FFMSS Extraversion and Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality Positive Temperament) and consensus-rated personality disorder symptoms (e.g., FFMSS Agreeableness and Narcissistic Personality Disorder). Finally, on average, the FFMSS domains were able to account for approximately 50% of the variance in domains of functioning (e.g., occupational, parental) and were even able to account for variance after controlling for Axis I and Axis II pathology. Given these findings, it is believed that the FFMSS holds promise for clinical use.

The role of attachment styles and interpersonal problems in suicide-related behaviors.

The relationships among adult attachment styles, interpersonal problems, and categories of suicide-related behaviors (i.e., self-harm, suicide attempts, and their co-occurrence) were examined in a predominantly psychiatric sample (N = 406). Both anxious and avoidant attachment styles were associated with interpersonal problems. In turn, specific interpersonal problems differentially mediated the relations between attachment style and type of suicide-related behaviors. These findings suggest the importance of distinguishing between these groups of behaviors in terms of etiological pathways, maintenance processes, and treatment interventions.

Scoring the DSM-IV personality disorders using the Five-Factor Model: development and validation of normative scores for North American, French, and Dutch-Flemish samples.

Five-Factor Model (FFM) personality disorder (PD) counts have demonstrated significant convergent and discriminant validity with DSM-IV PD symptoms. However, these FFM PD counts are of limited clinical use without normative data because it is difficult to determine what a specific score means with regard to the relative level of elevation. The current study presents data from three large normative samples that can be used as norms for the FFM PD counts in the respective countries: United States (N = 1,000), France (N = 801), and Belgium-Netherlands (N = 549). The present study also examines the performance, with regard to diagnostic efficiency, of statistically-defined cut-offs at 1.5 standard deviations above the mean (T > or = 65) versus previously identified cut-offs using receiver-operator characteristics (ROC) analyses. These cut-offs are tested in three clinical samples-one from each of the aforementioned countries. In general, the T > or = 65 cut-offs performed similarly to those identified using ROC analyses and manifested properties relevant to a screening instrument. These normative data allow FFM data to be used in a flexible and comprehensive manner, which may include scoring this type of personality data in order to screen for DSM-IV PD constructs.

Two-year randomized controlled trial and follow-up of dialectical behavior therapy vs therapy by experts for suicidal behaviors and borderline personality disorder.

CONTEXT: Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a treatment for suicidal behavior and borderline personality disorder with well-documented efficacy. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the hypothesis that unique aspects of DBT are more efficacious compared with treatment offered by non-behavioral psychotherapy experts. DESIGN: One-year randomized controlled trial, plus 1 year of posttreatment follow-up. SETTING: University outpatient clinic and community practice. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred one clinically referred women with recent suicidal and self-injurious behaviors meeting DSM-IV criteria, matched to condition on age, suicide attempt history, negative prognostic indication, and number of lifetime intentional self-injuries and psychiatric hospitalizations. INTERVENTION: One year of DBT or 1 year of community treatment by experts (developed to maximize internal validity by controlling for therapist sex, availability, expertise, allegiance, training and experience, consultation availability, and institutional prestige). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Trimester assessments of suicidal behaviors, emergency services use, and general psychological functioning. Measures were selected based on previous outcome studies of DBT. Outcome variables were evaluated by blinded assessors. RESULTS: Dialectical behavior therapy was associated with better outcomes in the intent-to-treat analysis than community treatment by experts in most target areas during the 2-year treatment and follow-up period. Subjects receiving DBT were half as likely to make a suicide attempt (hazard ratio, 2.66; P = .005), required less hospitalization for suicide ideation (F(1,92) = 7.3; P = .004), and had lower medical risk (F(1,50) = 3.2; P = .04) across all suicide attempts and self-injurious acts combined. Subjects receiving DBT were less likely to drop out of treatment (hazard ratio, 3.2; P < .001) and had fewer psychiatric hospitalizations (F(1,92) = 6.0; P = .007) and psychiatric emergency department visits (F(1,92) = 2.9; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings replicate those of previous studies of DBT and suggest that the effectiveness of DBT cannot reasonably be attributed to general factors associated with expert psychotherapy. Dialectical behavior therapy appears to be uniquely effective in reducing suicide attempts.

Risky assessments: participant suicidality and distress associated with research assessments in a treatment study of suicidal behavior.

The purpose of this study was to examine patterns of self-reported suicidality and distress during research assessments in a sample of 63 women meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder and current and chronic suicidality. The risk management protocol we used during the two-year study period (University of Washington Risk Assessment Protocol; UWRAP) is described. Results indicated that changes in suicidality following assessments were small and relatively infrequent, and were just as likely to reflect decreases in suicidality as increases (17.5% versus 16.4% of sessions, respectively). Further, longitudinal analyses indicated that changes in suicidality became increasingly rare over the course of the 2-year study. Ratings of distress were more changeable than suicidality, underscoring the need for separate measurement of these constructs when assessing risk. With the aid of the UWRAP, our assessors judged 15 participants as high-risk status in 28 assessment sessions (3.7% of all sessions). In comparison to the rest of the sample, these individuals were of significantly greater clinical severity as measured by the HRSD 17-item, GAF scores, number and severity of previous suicide attempts, and number of previous psychiatric hospitalizations. Low-intensity risk intervention strategies (e.g., validating participant's feelings) were typically sufficient to reduce risk in these participants. Overall, our findings indicate that research with highly suicidal individuals can be done safely with the use of well-trained assessors and an appropriate crisis management protocol.

A simplified technique for scoring DSM-IV personality disorders with the Five-Factor Model.

The current study compares the use of two alternative methodologies for using the Five-Factor Model (FFM) to assess personality disorders (PDs). Across two clinical samples, a technique using the simple sum of selected FFM facets is compared with a previously used prototype matching technique. The results demonstrate that the more easily calculated counts perform as well as the similarity scores that are generated by the prototype matching technique. Optimal diagnostic thresholds for the FFM PD counts are computed for identifying patients who meet diagnostic criteria for a specific PD. These threshold scores demonstrate good sensitivity in receiver operating characteristics analyses, suggesting their usefulness for screening purposes. Given the ease of this scoring procedure, the FFM count technique has obvious clinical utility.

The validity of the five-factor model prototypes for personality disorders in two clinical samples.

The authors examined the validity of D. R. Lynam and T. A. Widiger's (2001) prototypes for personality disorders (PDs) derived from the facets of the 5-factor model (FFM) of personality in 2 clinical samples. In the 1st sample (N = 94), there was good agreement between the prototypes generated by experts and the profiles reported by patients. These FFM PD similarity scores also demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity with results from a semistructured interview and a self-report measure of Axis II pathology. In the 2nd sample (N = 132), the FFM PD similarity scores demonstrated excellent longitudinal stability and good predictive validity with regard to consensus ratings of PD features. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Dialectical behavior therapy versus comprehensive validation therapy plus 12-step for the treatment of opioid dependent women meeting criteria for borderline personality disorder.

We conducted a randomized controlled trial to evaluate whether dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), a treatment that synthesizes behavioral change with radical acceptance strategies, would be more effective for heroin-dependent women with borderline personality disorder (N = 23) than Comprehensive Validation Therapy with 12-Step (CVT + 12S), a manualized approach that provided the major acceptance-based strategies used in DBT in combination with participation in 12-Step programs. In addition to psychosocial treatment, subjects also received concurrent opiate agonist therapy with adequate doses of LAAM (thrice weekly; modal dose 90/90/130 mg). Treatment lasted for 12 months. Drug use outcomes were measured via thrice-weekly urinalyses and self-report. Three major findings emerged. First, results of urinalyses indicated that both treatment conditions were effective in reducing opiate use relative to baseline. At 16 months post-randomization (4 months post-treatment), all participants had a low proportion of opiate-positive urinalyses (27% in DBT; 33% in CVT + 12S). With regard to between-condition differences, participants assigned to DBT maintained reductions in mean opiate use through 12 months of active treatment while those assigned to CVT + 12S significantly increased opiate use during the last 4 months of treatment. Second, CVT + 12S retained all 12 participants for the entire year of treatment, compared to a 64% retention rate in DBT. Third, at both post-treatment and at the 16-month follow-up assessment, subjects in both treatment conditions showed significant overall reductions in level of psychopathology relative to baseline. A noteworthy secondary finding was that DBT participants were significantly more accurate in their self-report of opiate use than were those assigned to CVT + 12S.