TY - JOUR A1 - Weck, Florian A1 - Junga, Yvonne Marie A1 - Kliegl, Reinhold A1 - Hahn, Daniela A1 - Brucker, Katharina A1 - Witthöft, Michael T1 - Effects of competence feedback on therapist competence and patient outcome BT - a randomized controlled trial JF - Journal of consulting and clinical psychology N2 - Objective: Therapist competence is considered essential for the success of psychotherapy. Feedback is an intervention which has the potential to improve therapist competence. The present study investigated whether competence feedback leads to an improvement of therapist competence and patient outcome. Method: Sixty-seven master-level clinical trainees were randomly assigned to either a competence feedback group (CFG) or a control group (CG). Patients with a diagnosis of major depression (N = 114) were randomly assigned to CFG or CG. Treatment included 20 individual sessions of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). In CFG, therapists received, parallel to the treatment, five competence feedbacks, based on videotaped therapy sessions. Independent raters assessed therapist competence with the Cognitive Therapy Scale (CTS) and provided the competence feedback. Patient outcome was evaluated with the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) and therapeutic alliance (Helping Alliance Questionnaire [HAQ]) from both therapist's (HAQ-T) and patient's (HAQ-P) perspective were evaluated after each of the 20 sessions. Results: (a) Therapist competence (CTS) increased significantly more for CFG than CG. (b) Depression (BDI-II) decreased significantly across sessions for both groups, but without evidence for a group-differential benefit for the CFG. (c) Therapeutic alliance (HAQ-T/P) increased significantly across sessions for both groups from both perspectives, but without group differences. (d) There is a positive effect of BDI-II on CTS at the beginning and a negative effect of CTS on BDI-II at the end of therapy. Conclusion: Competence feedback improves therapists' independently rated competence, but there is no evidence that competence feedback in CBT leads to better outcome. What is the public health significance of this article? This study suggests the substantial value of systematic competence feedback for improving therapist competence in the psychotherapy of depression. No significant effect of competence feedback on the reduction of reported depressive symptoms was found. KW - feedback KW - outcome KW - major depression KW - therapeutic alliance KW - therapeutic KW - competencies Y1 - 2021 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1037/ccp0000686 SN - 0022-006X SN - 1939-2117 VL - 89 IS - 11 SP - 885 EP - 897 PB - American Psychological Association CY - Washington ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Matthias, Katja A1 - Rissling, Olesja A1 - Pieper, Dawid Aleksander A1 - Morche, Johannes A1 - Nocon, Marc A1 - Jacobs, Anja A1 - Wegewitz, Uta Elke A1 - Schirm, Jaqueline A1 - Lorenz, Robert C. T1 - The methodological quality of systematic reviews on the treatment of adult major depression needs improvement according to AMSTAR 2 BT - a cross-sectional study JF - Heliyon N2 - Background: Several standards have been developed to assess methodological quality of systematic reviews (SR). One widely used tool is the AMSTAR. A recent update -AMSTAR 2 -is a 16 item evaluation tool that enables a detailed assessment of SR that include randomised (RCT) or non-randomised studies (NRS) of healthcare interventions. Methods: A cross-sectional study of SR on pharmacological or psychological interventions in major depression in adults was conducted. SR published during 2012-2017 were sampled from MEDLINE, EMBASE and the Cochrane Database of SR. Methodological quality was assessed using AMSTAR 2. Potential predictive factors associated with quality were examined. Results: In rating overall confidence in the results of 60 SR four reviews were rated "high", two were "moderate", one was "low" and 53 were "critically low". The mean AMSTAR 2 percentage score was 45.3% (standard deviation 22.6%) in a wide range from 7.1% to 93.8%. Predictors of higher quality were: type of review (higher quality in Cochrane Reviews), SR including only randomized trials and higher journal impact factor. Limitations: AMSTAR 2 is not intended to be used for the generation of a percentage score. Conclusions: According to AMSTAR 2 the overall methodological quality of SR on the treatment of adult major depression needs improvement. Although there is a high need for summarized information in the field of mental health, this work demonstrates the need to critically assess SR before using their findings. Better adherence to established reporting guidelines for SR is needed. KW - public health KW - epidemiology KW - psychiatry KW - depression KW - evidence-based KW - medicine KW - AMSTAR 2 KW - methodological quality KW - risk of bias KW - systematic KW - review KW - major depression Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2020.e04776 SN - 2405-8440 VL - 6 IS - 9 PB - Elsevier CY - London [u.a.] ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kangas, Maria A1 - Heissel, Andreas T1 - Mental health literacy, treatment preferences and the lived experience of mental health problems in an Australian cancer sample JF - Psycho-oncology N2 - Objectives: The prevalence rates for mental health (MH) problems in cancer patients is high, although reduced uptake of services may be influenced by mental health literacy (MHL). The objective of this study was to investigate the MHL for depression and panic disorder (PD), including treatment preferences in Australian adults who had been diagnosed and treated for cancer, and whether MHL and treatment preferences was influenced by sex, age, and individuals' lived MH experience. Method: A total of 421 cancer survivors (n = 378 females) completed a self-report survey. Participants were asked to specify whether they had a lived experience with anxiety and/or depression, and to indicate treatment preferences for managing cancer-related distress. Two vignettes were administered to assess MHL for depression and PD. Results: The MHL accuracy for depression was higher than PD. Accuracy rates were higher for females with a lived experience with anxiety and/or depression; although the accuracy rate for PD was significantly lower in males. A high proportion of individuals preferred exercise and in-person counselling to manage depression and PD. Internet-based therapies were not strongly preferred for managing MH problems. Conclusions: The MHL for depression and PD is moderate for adult cancer survivors, with higher levels indicated for individuals with a personal lived experience with anxiety and/or depression. Public health campaigns for enhancing MHL should broaden to include individuals experiencing comorbid physical health conditions. Health providers also need to take into account client preferences for evidence-based therapies. KW - anxiety KW - cancer KW - exercise KW - major depression KW - mental health KW - preferences KW - psycho-oncology KW - treatment Y1 - 2020 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.5520 SN - 1057-9249 SN - 1099-1611 VL - 29 IS - 11 SP - 1883 EP - 1894 PB - Wiley CY - New York, NY ER -