Major depressive disorder (MDD), known as depression, is commonly characterized by relatively long periods of low mood that could last from two weeks to several years. Individuals affected by MDD experience a loss of interest in things that previously brought them pleasure and other mental struggles, such as low self-esteem and aversion to activities. While there is no available laboratory testing that can be used for the diagnosis, there are several treatment options for MDD and low mood caused by MDD. The treatment methods include psychotherapy, medications, dietary changes, and physical exercises. However, the treatment measures should be consistent through different MDD episodes experienced by an individual. This paper will discuss the short-term and long-term application of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for the purpose of relapse prevention in patients affected by MDD.
The article written by Zhang et al. was published in BMC Psychiatry journal in 2018. The article suggests that the use of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and its modifications as treatment can prevent the occurrence of relapses in patients affected by MDD. The article defines that commonly used medication methods for treatment in the long-term can cause adverse effects for the patient, such as drug interaction (Zhang et al., 2018). Moreover, the article states that most patients with MDD preferred psychotherapy as a treatment over medications (Zhang et al., 2018). Thus, the authors suggest that preference plays an important role in treatment choice as it influences the patients’ positive results and increases the patients’ adherence to recommendations.
Considering the use of CBT, the authors state that the treatment is one of the most common and effective measures for mental disorders. The therapy is founded on changing the patients’ coping tactics and behavior. CBT has many modifications which are effective for different goals and applications. In particular, mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), which combines CBT with meditation techniques in long-term use, can lower the recurrence of depression. The article identifies that previous attempts to study the effects of the application of MBCT in MDD in the existing body of knowledge did not include such factors as the number of previous depressive episodes. Thus, the authors suggest that using MBCT as a treatment for MDD can bring positive results in reducing the number of relapses.
The result of the study covered in the article state that the application of MBCT modification of CBT as a treatment for patients in remission affected by MDD results in effective prevention of relapses. In both short-term and long-term use, MBCT proved to be more effective for relapse prevention in subjects with more than three previous episodes of MDD. Thus, the article emphasized the importance of utilizing the information about previous MDD episodes and the influence of different treatment methods used in previous episodes on preventing relapses for the patient in the future.
In conclusion, the information acquired from the article provides valuable insight into the use of CBT as a treatment for major depressive disorder. The article identifies that some modifications of CBT can prevent the occurrence of relapses for the patient in the future. The article’s findings also emphasize the fact that information about previous episodes of MDD is important for treatment decisions in the future. The article supports the idea that the application of CBT should be consistent with other treatments measures used in different MDD episodes.
Reference
Zhang, Z., Zhang, L., Zhang, G., Jin, J., & Zheng, Z. (2018). The effect of CBT and its modifications for relapse prevention in major depressive disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry 18, 1-14.