TY - JOUR

T1 - Reducing symptoms of major depressive disorder through a systematic training of general emotion regulation skills

T2 - Protocol of a randomized controlled trial

AU - Ehret, Anna M.

AU - Kowalsky, Judith

AU - Rief, Winfried

AU - Hiller, Wolfgang

AU - Berking, Matthias

N1 - Funding Information: The study is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG; numbers BE 4510/3-1 and BE4510/3-2; HI 456/6-2). In addition, the Aus-und Weiterbildung in Klinischer Verhaltenstherapie (AWKV) and the Philipps-University Marburg support the study through research grants to PhD students who will be involved in the study. In addition to the first and second author of this manuscript, the following doctoral students will substantially contribute to the study: Yasemin Cal (Marburg), Marta Filipek (Marburg), Alice Diedrich (Mainz), Michaela Grant (Mainz), Mareike Kirchner (Mainz), Anna Radkovsky (Kassel), Carolin M. Wirtz (Kassel). In addition, several student research assistants will be involved in the collection of study data: Johanna Berwanger, Tamara Beyer, Tanja Doerfler, Sarah Ebinger, Anette Ehlenz, Anne Etzelmueller, Christina Fackiner, Bettina Glombik, Regina Hoefer, Hanna Kadel, Tobias Kube, Marie-Luise Mueller, Caroline Reiter, Anna Uelner, Marvin Ruppert, Jeanine Schwarz, Ragna Zehnder.

PY - 2014/1/27

Y1 - 2014/1/27

N2 - Background: Major Depressive Disorder is one of the most challenging mental health problems of our time. Although effective psychotherapeutic treatments are available, many patients fail to demonstrate clinically significant improvements. Difficulties in emotion regulation have been identified as putative risk and maintaining factors for Major Depressive Disorder. Systematically enhancing adaptive emotion regulation skills should thus help reduce depressive symptom severity. However, at this point, no study has systematically evaluated effects of increasing adaptive emotion regulation skills application on symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder. In the intended study, we aim to evaluate stand-alone effects of a group-based training explicitly and exclusively targeting general emotion regulation skills on depressive symptom severity and assess whether this training augments the outcome of subsequent individual cognitive behavioral therapy for depression.Methods/Design: In the evaluation of the Affect Regulation Training, we will conduct a prospective randomized-controlled trial. Effects of the Affect Regulation Training on depressive symptom severity and outcomes of subsequent individual therapy for depression will be compared with an active, common factor based treatment and a waitlist control condition. The study sample will include 120 outpatients meeting criteria for Major Depressive Disorder. Depressive symptom severity as assessed by the Hamilton Rating Scale will serve as our primary study outcome. Secondary outcomes will include further indicators of mental health and changes in adaptive emotion regulation skills application. All outcomes will be assessed at intake and at 10 points in time over the course of the 15-month study period. Measures will include self-reports, observer ratings, momentary ecological assessments, and will be complemented in subsamples by experimental investigations and the analysis of hair steroids.Discussion: If findings should support the hypothesis that enhancing regulation skills reduces symptom severity in Major Depressive Disorder, systematic emotion regulation skills training can enhance the efficacy and efficiency of current treatments for this severe and highly prevalent disorder.Trial registration: This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01330485.

AB - Background: Major Depressive Disorder is one of the most challenging mental health problems of our time. Although effective psychotherapeutic treatments are available, many patients fail to demonstrate clinically significant improvements. Difficulties in emotion regulation have been identified as putative risk and maintaining factors for Major Depressive Disorder. Systematically enhancing adaptive emotion regulation skills should thus help reduce depressive symptom severity. However, at this point, no study has systematically evaluated effects of increasing adaptive emotion regulation skills application on symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder. In the intended study, we aim to evaluate stand-alone effects of a group-based training explicitly and exclusively targeting general emotion regulation skills on depressive symptom severity and assess whether this training augments the outcome of subsequent individual cognitive behavioral therapy for depression.Methods/Design: In the evaluation of the Affect Regulation Training, we will conduct a prospective randomized-controlled trial. Effects of the Affect Regulation Training on depressive symptom severity and outcomes of subsequent individual therapy for depression will be compared with an active, common factor based treatment and a waitlist control condition. The study sample will include 120 outpatients meeting criteria for Major Depressive Disorder. Depressive symptom severity as assessed by the Hamilton Rating Scale will serve as our primary study outcome. Secondary outcomes will include further indicators of mental health and changes in adaptive emotion regulation skills application. All outcomes will be assessed at intake and at 10 points in time over the course of the 15-month study period. Measures will include self-reports, observer ratings, momentary ecological assessments, and will be complemented in subsamples by experimental investigations and the analysis of hair steroids.Discussion: If findings should support the hypothesis that enhancing regulation skills reduces symptom severity in Major Depressive Disorder, systematic emotion regulation skills training can enhance the efficacy and efficiency of current treatments for this severe and highly prevalent disorder.Trial registration: This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01330485.

KW - Health sciences

KW - Emotion regulation

KW - Major depressive disorder

KW - Randomized contolled trial

KW - Skills training

KW - treatment

KW - Emotion regulation

KW - Major depressive disorder

KW - Randomized controlled trial

KW - Skills training

KW - Treatment

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84896738274&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/649f747b-74ae-3627-a246-a9075fe521d0/

U2 - 10.1186/1471-244X-14-20

DO - 10.1186/1471-244X-14-20

M3 - Other (editorial matter etc.)

C2 - 24467807

AN - SCOPUS:84896738274

VL - 14

JO - BMC Psychiatry

JF - BMC Psychiatry

SN - 1471-244X

IS - 1

M1 - 20

ER -