Integrating clinician and patient case conceptualization with momentary assessment data to construct idiographic networks: Moving toward personalized treatment for eating disorders

Eating disorders are serious psychiatric illnesses with treatments ineffective for about 50% of individuals due to high heterogeneity of symptom presentation even within the same diagnoses, a lack of personalized treatments to address this heterogeneity, and the fact that clinicians are left to rely upon their own judgment to decide how to personalize treatment. Idiographic (personalized) networks can be estimated from ecological momentary assessment data, and have been used to investigate central symptoms, which are theorized to be fruitful treatment targets. However, both efficacy of treatment target selection and implementation with 'real world' clinicians could be maximized if clinician input is integrated into such networks. An emerging line of research is therefore proposing to integrate case conceptualizations and statistical routines, tying together the benefits from clinical expertise as well as patient experience and idiographic networks. The current pilot compares personalized treatment implications from different approaches to constructing idiographic networks. For two patients with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, we compared idiographic networks 1) based on the case conceptualization from clinician and patient, 2) estimated from patient EMA data (the current default in the literature), and 3) based on a combination of case conceptualization and patient EMA data networks, drawing on informative priors in Bayesian inference. Centrality-based treatment recommendations differed to varying extent between these approaches for patients. We discuss implications from these findings, as well as how these models may inform clinical practice by pairing evidence-based treatments with identified treatment targets.

Using person-specific networks in psychotherapy: challenges, limitations, and how we could use them anyway

BACKGROUND

The complexity of psychopathology is evident from its multifactorial etiology and diversity of symptom profiles and hampers effective treatment. In psychotherapy, therapists approach this complexity by using case conceptualization. During this process, patients and therapists closely collaborate on a personalized working theory of the patient's psychopathology. This is a challenging process and shows low reliability between therapists. With the experience sampling method (ESM), time-series data-valuable for case conceptualization-can be systematically gathered in a patient's normal daily life. These data can be analyzed and visualized in person-specific networks (PSNs). PSNs may support case conceptualization by providing a schematic representation of association patterns between affective, cognitive, behavioral, and context variables.

MAIN TEXT

We adopt a clinical perspective in considering how PSNs might be implemented to serve case conceptualization and what their role could be in psychotherapy. We suggest PSNs to be based on personalized ESM assessment to capture the unique constellation of variables in each patient. We reflect on the lack of a gold standard for creating PSNs, which may result in substantially different PSNs and thereby disparate information for case conceptualization. Moreover, even if PSNs are created in a consistent manner, results remain ambiguous as they are subject to multiple interpretations. Therefore, associations in PSNs do not allow for firm conclusions about a patient's psychopathology, but they may nevertheless be valuable in the process of case conceptualization. PSNs are based on systematically gathered, ecologically valid ESM data and provide a unique personalized perspective. When used responsibly, PSNs may be able to support case conceptualization by generating questions that serve as a starting point for a dialog between therapists and patients. Well-targeted questions are an essential tool for therapists to gain insight into the patients' psychopathology patterns and improve the quality of case conceptualization.

CONCLUSIONS

PSNs have limitations in terms of the reliability of the insights they provide directly. However, taking these challenges into account, we believe they have potential as a tool to help therapists and patients in their collaborative exploration of a patient's psychopathology. Clearly, this would need to be validated in future clinical research.

What are the essential ingredients of a CBT case conceptualization for voices and delusions in schizophrenia spectrum disorders? A study of expert consensus

Evidence supports the use of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. A case conceptualization (CC) (or case formulation) is seen as the keystone of CBT in terms of making sense of a patient's difficulties, to guide and inform such treatment. Despite the importance placed on CC there is no known consensus amongst experts as to the essential ingredients involved in this fundamental process. This study used the Delphi method to establish expert consensus for the essential components of a CC when working to treat auditory hallucinations (voices), and persecutory delusions. An international panel of 78 CBT for psychosis (CBTp) experts from 12 different countries participated in the main stage of this study. This 3-stage process involved producing and rating statements that addressed key areas of CC in terms of: presenting issues, predisposing, precipitating, perpetuating and protective factors. One presenting issue and 6 perpetuating factors were endorsed as essential by >80% of the expert panel. The exact same items were endorsed for both voices, and persecutory delusions. The findings are unique in that a large panel of international experts reached consensus that case conceptualizations (CCs) should be parsimonious and focused on the perpetuating (maintaining) factors to facilitate change. Overall, the proposed recommendations should lead to core guidance for the process of developing CCs, and improvements in training for clinicians that conceptualize voices, and persecutory delusions in CBT for schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Precision Medicine for Insomnia

Insomnia affects up to 15% of the US population. There are effective pharmacologic and behavioral treatments for insomnia; however, there is often no one-size-fits-all intervention. This article discusses the leading behavioral treatment of insomnia, cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia, and its ability to be tailored to an individual's specific symptoms. It then discusses pharmacologic options for treating insomnia, and offers some guidance on medication selection to enhance personalized care. In addition, it discusses how the current evidence base can help providers make choices between pharmacologic and behavioral treatments.

Emotion-Focused Therapy for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Case Conceptualization Model for Trauma-Related Experiences

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report painful experiences through emotional misunderstandings with typically developing peers. There are limited intervention methodologies for ASD on the impact of emotional injuries and how to work with resulting trauma. This paper presents a rational-empirical model of trauma-related experiences with the first presentation of a new case conceptualization model for emotion-focused therapy for ASD. It describes the transformation of problematic emotion schemes through a sequence of emotional processing steps illustrated with a case example. These steps include: overcoming differentiation of core painful feelings (such as loneliness, shame, and fear); autobiographical memory recall of distanced trauma, using a novel method of video Interpersonal Process Recall; and articulation of the unmet needs contained in core painful feelings. This is followed by the expression of an emotional response to those feelings/needs; typically, self-soothing, protective anger and compassion responses offered interpersonally by group members. These emerging adaptive emotions facilitate mentalization of self and other that strengthens intrapersonal and interpersonal agency. This rational-empirical case conceptualization acts as a hypothesis for testing in subsequent trials.