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Vagus Nerve Stimulation As an Adjunctive Neurostimulation Tool in Treatment-resistant Depression
Published on: January 7, 2019
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Randomized Trial of the Effectiveness of Videoconferencing-Based Versus Message-Based Psychotherapy on Depression
Patricia A Areán1, Michael D Pullmann1, Isabell R Griffith Fillipo1
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle (Areán, Pullmann, Griffith Fillipo, Mosser, Chen); Talkspace, New York City (Wu, Hull); Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle (Heagerty).
Psychiatric Services (Washington, D.C.)
|July 19, 2024
Summary
Message-based psychotherapy (MBP) offers comparable clinical outcomes to videoconferencing psychotherapy (VCP) for depression. Adults with depression engaged more with MBP, showing it
Area of Science:
- Digital mental health
- Psychotherapy research
- Clinical trial design
Background:
- Telepsychiatry is increasingly utilized for mental health treatment.
- Comparative effectiveness of different digital modalities requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare engagement, clinical outcomes, and adverse events of message-based psychotherapy (MBP) versus videoconferencing-based psychotherapy (VCP) in adults with depression.
Main Methods:
- A sequential multiple-assignment randomized trial was conducted with 215 adults with depression.
- Participants were initially assigned to asynchronous MBP or weekly VCP.
- Subsequent treatment assignments were based on response to initial therapy, utilizing longitudinal mixed-effects models.
Main Results:
- Participants in the MBP group engaged with therapists over significantly more weeks (7.8 weeks) compared to the VCP group (4.9 weeks).
- No significant differences were found in depression, anxiety, disability, or global improvement ratings between MBP and VCP at 6 or 12 weeks.
- No adverse events were reported for either treatment modality.
Conclusions:
- Message-based psychotherapy (MBP) is a viable alternative to videoconferencing psychotherapy (VCP) for treating adults with depression.
- MBP may enhance patient engagement in digital mental health interventions.
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