A Unique Type of CBT Can Help in Treatment-Resistant Depression

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most popular treatments for depression, and a highly effective one at that. It helps by teaching the patient how to cope with their challenges by first changing their thought processes.

Question is, can changing one's thoughts create a lasting change in the brain?

A new study says YES.

The research led by Stanford Medicine studied adults living with both depression and obesity. Such patients are typically hard to treat, with antidepressants having only 17% success rate among them. So let's find out how CBT stacks up against such treatment-resistant depression.

How problem-solving CBT helps in depression

Now, cognitive behavioral therapy can be applied in different ways.

The CBT used for these patients is one that focuses on problem-solving.

The results? Cognitive behavioral therapy focusing on problem-solving reduced depression in up to 32% of the patients.

But most interestingly, the patients who responded well to the therapy showed changes in their brain circuitry just two months into the treatment. Others who didn't show these signs didn't experience as much impact from the treatment, even after running it for a year.

The changes in brain circuitry serve as a test, an indicator of who the treatment would work for.

And this is great.

Because when it comes to treating depression, there was usually no test to determine what treatment would be best, until recently. And as you probably know, the same depression treatment does not work for every patient.

If patients can be tested for which treatment would be most effective or ineffective, then there would be more targeted treatment and less trial-and-error.

This is the aim of pharmacogenetic testing, which is now used in psychiatry.

Why this is good news

Apparently, problem-solving CBT doesn't work for every patient, as is the case with every other depression treatment.

But its success rate is a remarkable 32%, even for treatment-resistant patients in which antidepressants are merely 17% effective.

Plus, the brain change test can help determine early which patients are going to benefit from the treatment, therefore preventing others from going on a wild goose chase.

This is another step towards precision psychiatry. And it's good news to anyone battling depression right now, especially treatment-resistant ones.

There is HOPE!

Author

Satu H. Woodland, PMHCNS-BC, APRN Satu Woodland is owner and clinician of Hope Mental Health, an integrative mental health practice located at Bown Crossing in Boise, Idaho. She sees children, adolescents, and adults.  Ms. Woodland with her background in nursing, prefers a holistic and integrative approach to mental health care that addresses the mind and body together. While Ms. Woodland provides medication management services in all her patients, she believes in long-lasting solutions that include a number of psychotherapies, namely cognitive behavioral therapy, exposure and response prevention therapy, attention to lifestyle, evidenced based alternative psychiatric care and spirituality. If you’d like to gain control over your mental health issues, call Hope Mental Health at 208-918-0958, or use the online scheduling tool to set up an initial consultation.