Affective impact and electrocortical correlates of a psychotherapeutic microintervention: an ERP study of cognitive
Luisa Zaunmüller1, Wolfgang Lutz, Timothy J Strauman
1a Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology , University of Trier , Trier , Germany.
Objective:
Psychotherapy for depression emphasizes techniques that can help individuals regulate their moods. The present study investigated the affective impact and electrocortical correlates of cognitive restructuring, delivered as a 90-minute psychotherapeutic microintervention in a dysphoric sample.
Method:
Participants (N = 92) who reported either low or high levels of dysphoric symptoms were randomly assigned to the restructuring microintervention, a control intervention or a no-intervention condition. We obtained recordings of event-related potentials (ERPs) as well as mood self-ratings during an experimental session immediately after the psychotherapeutic microintervention and the control intervention in which a set of negatively valenced pictures (IAPS) was presented with different instructions.
Results:
Whereas the restructuring intervention group and the control intervention group reported both increases in positive and decreases in negative affect from pre- to post-intervention, the three groups differed significantly on ERP measures.
Conclusions:
Findings provide support for current models of mechanisms of action in cognitive therapies.
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