Comparison of cognitive-behaviour therapy with psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapy for depressed patients – A three-year follow-up study

Abstract

The study investigates the effectiveness of long-term psychotherapies. Cognitive-behaviour therapy was compared with psychoanalytic and psychodynamic therapy in the treatment of patients with a primary diagnosis of unipolar depression. In a prospective, quasi-experimental design 100 patients were compared at pre- and post-treatment and three-year follow-up. Outcome measures were the Beck Depression Inventory and Global Severity Index for measuring symptoms, the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems and the Social Support Questionnaire for measurement of social-interpersonal functioning, and the INTREX Introject Questionnaire for measuring personality structure. Comparative effectiveness of the experimental groups was analyzed using mixed models. We found significant outcome differences between psychoanalytic therapy and cognitive-behaviour therapy in depressive and global psychiatric symptoms, partly social-interpersonal and personality structure at three-year follow-up. Psychodynamic therapy was superior to cognitive-behaviour therapy in the reduction of interpersonal problems. Psychoanalytic therapy shows significantly longer-lasting effects compared to cognitive-behaviour therapy three years after termination of treatment, which is discussed as a dose-effect.