The impact of the Memory Support Intervention on therapist memory for treatment contents

Given that therapist memory for treatment is likely to be sub-optimal and may affect the quality of treatment, this secondary analysis aimed to evaluate the impact of the Memory Support Intervention on therapist treatment recall in the context of delivering cognitive therapy (CT) for major depressive disorder (MDD).

Adults (N = 172) with MDD were randomized to receive CT + Memory Support or CT-as-usual. Therapist demographics were comparable across conditions (N = 19; Mean age = 28.5 years; 79.0% female; 42.1% Caucasian). The amount of memory support delivered by therapists (measured with the Memory Support Rating Scale) was coded at session 2, the sessions during weeks 4, 8, and 12 of treatment, and the final session. Three types of memory support (non-constructive, constructive, and overall) were analyzed. Therapist recall (measured with the Therapist Recall Task) was completed by therapists immediately following sessions during weeks 4, 8, and 12 and the final session.

Therapists in the CT + Memory Support condition recalled more treatment contents compared to CT-as-usual (bs = 1.81 to 3.87, ps = 0.000 - 0.01). Across treatment conditions, the amount of overall and non-constructive memory support, but not constructive memory support, was generally associated with greater therapist recall (bs = -4.85 to -12.35, ps = 0.000 - 0.04). Latent growth curve models indicates that therapist use overall memory support may be a mechanism through which the Memory Support Intervention results in enhanced therapist memory (ps = 0.05).

The Memory Support Intervention may improve therapist memory for treatment through increased therapist use of non-constructive memory support. Future research is needed to explicate the mechanisms by which this type of memory support improves therapist recall.

NCT02938559, registered October 19, 2016. All research materials, data, and analysis code are available from the authors upon request.