Abstract
This study is the fourth of a series of seven and belongs to the second Italian systematic replication of findings from previous series that investigated the effectiveness of a manualized transactional analysis treatment for depression through Hermeneutic Single-Case Efficacy Design. The therapist was a white Italian man with 17 years of clinical experience and the patient, Giorgio, was a 23-year-old white Italian man who attended sixteen sessions of transactional analysis psychotherapy. Giorgio satisfied DSM-5 criteria for Major Depressive Disorder, Persistent Depressive Disorder,Panic Disorder, Agoraphobia and Dependent Personality Disorder. The treatment focused on both symptoms remission and conflicts at the core of dependent personality. The judges evaluated the case as a good outcome, mediated by the work on core conflicts of personality, that enhanced the treatment outcome and the remission of depressive symptoms. This case study suggests that the classical treatment for depression may be enhanced by considering the conflicts at the base of personality traits or disorders.
 Citation - APA format:
 Benelli, E., Procacci, M., Fornaro, A., Calvo, V., Mannarini, S., Palmieri, A. and Zanchetta, M. (2018). TA Treatment of Depression:A Hermeneutic Single-Case Efficacy Design Study - Giorgio. International Journal of Transactional Analysis Research & Practice, 9(2), 3-22 https://doi.org/10.29044/v9i2p3
Highlights
The treatment plans are based on the indication provided by both the SWAP-200 manual and the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual (PDM-2, Lingiardi & McWilliams, 2017). In this Hermeneutic Single-Case Efficacy Design (HSCED) we investigate the effectiveness of the TA treatment for depression integrated with the indication for treating depressive personality – subtype dependent in the case of ‘Giorgio’, a 23-year-old Italian man with diagnosis of major depressive disorder in comorbidity with persistent depressive disorder, panic disorder, agoraphobia and dependent personality disorder
Quantitative Data Patient Health Questionnaire 9-item for depression (PHQ-9) and CORE-OM were administered in the pretreatment phase in order to obtain a three-point baseline, and during the three follow-ups, whereas Personal Questionnaire (PQ) was first administered in session 0C
Affirmative Conclusion Giorgio’s depression, global distress and personal problems were related to difficulties in inner experience such as self-esteem and emotions, his dependent personality disorder, and an absence of autonomy, and interpersonal patterns, such as being egosyntonic with his mother and having a distorted internal representation of his relationships due to his fear of losing others
Summary
Previous publications have widely described the rationale for supporting by HSCED the accumulation of evidences of efficacy and effectiveness for those models of psychotherapy that are emerging or marginalized (Benelli, De Carlo, Biffi & McLeod, 2015) and how this is important for recognition of TA and inclusion within the acknowledged treatments for common mental disorders (i.e., depression, anxiety and personality disorders) (Widdowson 2012a, 2012b, 2012c, 2013, 2014; Benelli, 2016a, 2016b, 2016c, 2017a, 2017b, 2017c). The general aim of these case series is to investigate the effectiveness of the manualized TA treatment for depression (Widdowson, 2016). The specific aim of this case study is to investigate the effectiveness of the manualized TA treatment for a client with depression in comorbidity with anxiety and personality disorder. Manualized treatments need to be flexible enough to allow clinicians to apply the treatments to the different presentations of the disorders (e.g., depression) and in comorbidity with other disorders (e.g., anxiety) and personality disorders
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