Co-Morbid

Cornelius JR, Douaihy A, Bukstein OG, Daley DC, Wood SD, Kelly TM, Salloum IM. (2011). Evaluation of cognitive behavioral therapy/motivational enhancement therapy (CBT/MET) in a treatment trial of comorbid MDD/AUD adolescents. Addictive Behaviors , 36: 843-48.

Correspondence Address:
Not Available

OBJECTIVE Behavioral therapies developed specifically for co-occurring disorders remain sparse, and such therapies for comorbid adolescents are particularly rare. This was an evaluation of the long-term (2-year) efficacy of an acute phase trial of manualized cognitive behavioral therapy/motivation enhancement therapy (CBT/MET) vs. naturalistic treatment among adolescents who had signed consent for a treatment study involving the SSRI antidepressant medication fluoxetine and CBT/MET therapy for comorbid major depressive disorder (MDD) and an alcohol use disorder (AUD). We hypothesized that improvements in depressive symptoms and alcohol-related symptoms noted among the subjects who had received CBT/MET would exceed that of those in the naturalistic comparison group that had not received CBT/MET therapy.
METHODS: We evaluated levels of depressive symptoms and alcohol-related symptoms at a two-year follow-up evaluation among comorbid MDD/AUD adolescents who had received an acute phase trial of manual-based CBT/MET (in addition to the SSRI medication fluoxetine or placebo) compared to those who had received naturalistic care.
RESULTS: In repeated measures ANOVA, a significant time by enrollment status difference was noted for both depressive symptoms and alcohol-related symptoms across the two-year time period of this study, with those receiving CBT/MET demonstrating superior outcomes compared to those who had not received protocol CBT/MET therapy. No significant difference was noted between those receiving fluoxetine vs. those receiving placebo on any outcome at any time point.
CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest long-term efficacy for an acute phase trial of manualized CBT/MET for treating comorbid MDD/AUD adolescents. Large multi-site studies are warranted to further clarify the efficacy of CBT/MET therapy among various adolescent and young adult comorbid populations.

Hagen, R., Nordahl, H. M., Kristiansen, L., & Morken, G. (2005). A randomized trial of cognitive group therapy vs. waiting list for patients with co-morbid psychiatric disorders: Effect of cognitive group therapy after treatment and six and twelve months follow-up. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 33(1), 33-44.

Correspondence Address:
Roger Hagen, Department of Psychology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway, 7491, roger.hagen@svt.ntnu.no.

Abstract
The aim of the study was to assess the effectiveness of cognitive group therapy compared to a waiting list in a sample of patients with heterogeneous non-psychotic disorders. Participants in this study were referred from either the psychiatric in- or outpatient clinic at the psychiatric university hospital in Trondheim, Norway. The patients were assessed with SCID I and SCID II, and randomized either to cognitive group therapy (n=15) or to a waiting list (n=17). Self-report assessments of symptoms and interpersonal difficulties were administered at the start of therapy, after termination of therapy (8 weeks), and at 6 months and 12 months follow-up. Thirty-two patients completed 8 weeks of therapy. Results showed that an 8-week program of CBGT performed better than the waiting list controls, on symptom relief at post-treatment for all patients. The effects of therapy were still upheld at 6 and 12 months follow-up. Cognitive therapy seems to be useful and effective in a group format in naturalistic clinical settings, with patients suffering from various forms of non-psychotic co-morbid psychiatric disorders.(PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved)