Outcomes of student trainee-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) on internalizing symptoms, CBT skills, and life satisfaction

Acceptability and Outcomes of Transdiagnostic Guided Self-help Bibliotherapy for Internalizing Disorder Symptoms in Adults: A Fully Remote Nationwide Open Trial

Introduction

Doing What Matters in Times of Stress (DWM) is a five-module transdiagnostic guided self-help (GSH) intervention developed by the World Health Organization, originally in a group-based format. In a sample of individuals recruited from across the United States, we conducted an open trial to study the feasibility and acceptability of an adaptation of DWM in which guidance was provided individually and remotely via phone and videoconferencing.

Methods

We assessed internalizing symptoms, psychological well-being, work and social functioning, usability of the intervention, and emotion regulation over the course of 6 weeks.

Results

A total of 263 individuals completed our screening. Of those, 75.29% (n = 198) qualified for the intervention. We reached most participants who qualified (71.21%, n = 141) via phone to schedule a GSH session. Most of those scheduled attended a study session (84.4%, n = 119), and most of those who attended a session completed more than half the treatment (84.03%, n = 100). Retention rates were comparable to meta-analytic estimates of dropout rates in GSH. Participants showed improvement on internalizing symptoms, psychological well-being, work and social functioning, usability of the intervention, and emotion regulation.

Conclusion

DWM is a freely available, seemingly efficacious transdiagnostic intervention for internalizing disorder symptoms.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10608-022-10338-5.

Effects of Perinatal Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Delivery Mode, Fetal Outcome, and Postpartum Depression and Anxiety in Women

Objective. To explore the effects of perinatal cognitive-behavioral therapy on delivery mode, fetal outcome, and postpartum depression and anxiety in women. Methods. The clinical data of 88 perinatal pregnant women who came to our hospital from May 2020 to May 2021 were retrospectively analyzed and grouped into the routine group and the cognitive behavioral intervention group according to different perinatal nursing methods, with 44 cases in the cognitive behavioral intervention group received by cognitive behavioral therapy, and 44 cases in the routine group obtained by routine obstetric care during the perinatal period. The anxiety of pregnant women was evaluated by the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA). The positive cooperation and negative response of the perinatal pregnant women in two groups were recorded. The trial delivery rate, mode of delivery, amount of intrapartum bleeding, neonatal Apgar score, and visual pain simulation score (VAS) within 48 hours after delivery of the pregnant women in the two groups were also recorded and compared. The incidence of depression of pregnant and lying-in women in the two groups was recorded on the 5th and 42nd day after delivery. Results. After the intervention, the anxiety score of pregnant women in the cognitive behavioral intervention group was significantly lower than that in the routine group ( $P<0.05$ ). Following the intervention, the positive cooperation score of pregnant women in the cognitive behavioral intervention group was prominently higher than that in the routine group, and the negative cooperation score was observably lower than that in the routine group ( $P<0.05$ ). The rate of spontaneous delivery in the cognitive behavioral intervention group was significantly higher than that in the conventional group ( $P<0.05$ ), while the VAS score and blood loss in the cognitive behavioral intervention group were notably lower than those in the routine group ( $P<0.05$ ). The proportion of women with EPDS score <9 points, i.e., no postpartum depression both on the 5th and 42nd day after delivery, were significantly higher than those in the routine group ( $P<0.05$ ), whereas the proportion of patients with postpartum depression symptoms scored 9–13 points were markedly lower than those of the routine group ( $P<0.05$ ). Conclusion. The cognitive behavioral therapy can improve the adverse physiological and psychological reactions of pregnant women with perinatal anxiety disorder, enhance the natural delivery rate and postoperative recovery, reduce the risk of neonatal asphyxia, and ensure the safety of mothers and infants in the perinatal period. Compared with routine nursing, this intervention method is more targeted and scientific, and is worthy of clinical promotion.