Cognitive Restructuring for Depressive Symptoms Applied by Mental Health Nurses: Designing the Structure and Contents

To design the structure and content of a cognitive restructuring intervention for people with depressive symptoms.

Given the limited number of psychotherapeutic interventions currently available to mental health nurses, there is a pressing need to develop new evidence-based approaches.

A focus group methodology was used, informed by the findings of a previous scoping review. Data were collected from 11 experts during two focus group sessions and analyzed using content analysis. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist was followed.

Guidelines have been defined for theoretical conceptualization, inclusion and exclusion criteria, therapeutic objectives, diagnostic assessment tools, clinical practice context, number and duration of sessions, type of the intervention, and session content. The contents were defined and grouped into seven sessions and a prior evaluation session: (1) welcome; (2) exploration; (3) identification; (4) understanding; (5) change; (6) consolidation; and (7) follow-up session.

The design of the intervention will allow it to be applied in a structured and uniform way, enabling the evaluation of its efficacy and contributing to the advancement of research in the field of mental health nursing.

The focus group made it possible to design a structured cognitive restructuring intervention that could be applied by mental health nurses.

The developed intervention provides a structured framework that may support future nurse-led psychotherapeutic care and inform the evolution of mental health nursing practice and education, pending validation through feasibility and effectiveness studies.

If validated in future studies, the intervention may inform guidelines and policies supporting nurse-led psychotherapeutic care.