NCT02126787

Brief Summary

Background: Psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral group therapies are frequently applied in day hospitals in the treatment of anxiety disorders, and comorbid depressive or personality disorders in Poland. There is not enough evidence for its effectiveness in this environment. This study addresses this gap. The aim is to determine the effectiveness of the two kinds of day treatments consisting of intensive, short-term group therapy: psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral for patients with anxiety disorders and comorbid depressive or personality disorders. Our objectives are: 1) Demonstrating effectiveness of each treatment in a day care setting relative to wait-list control; 2) Demonstrating the relative short- and long-term effectiveness of the two active treatments; 3) Preliminary examination of predictors and moderators of treatment response; and 4) Preliminary examination of mediators of therapeutic change; 5) Detailed comparison of impact of both methods of treatment on the outcome of used measures. Methods/design: In this randomized controlled trial, a total of 123 patients with anxiety disorders and comorbid depressive or personality disorders will be assigned to one of three conditions: 1) psychodynamic group therapy; 2) cognitive-behavioral group therapy; 3) waiting list (control group). Therapy will last 12 weeks. Both treatments will be manualized (manuals will address comorbidity). Primary outcome measures are include self-report symptoms of anxiety, observer rated symptoms of anxiety, global improvement and dichotomized diagnosis of anxiety disorder. Secondary outcome measures include personality, depression, self-esteem, defense mechanisms, beliefs about self and others, interpersonal problems, object relations, parental bonding, meta-cognition, mindfulness and quality of life: symptoms of anxiety, depression, personality, self-esteem and defense mechanisms. Measures are taken at baseline, post-treatment and 3 months following the end of the therapy. Discussion: The randomized controlled trial format is used to compare effectiveness of intensive group cognitive-behavior therapy and intensive group psychodynamic therapy for anxiety disorders and comorbid depressive or personality disorders. The rationale is to investigate how effectively anxiety disorders and comorbid personality disorders can be treated in a day hospital typical for Polish healthcare system in 3 months treatment.

Trial Health

43
At Risk

Trial Health Score

Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach

Trial has exceeded expected completion date
Enrollment
123

participants targeted

Target at P50-P75 for not_applicable

Timeline
Completed

Started Sep 2014

Geographic Reach
1 country

1 active site

Status
unknown

Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.

Trial Relationships

Click on a node to explore related trials.

Study Timeline

Key milestones and dates

First Submitted

Initial submission to the registry

April 9, 2014

Completed
21 days until next milestone

First Posted

Study publicly available on registry

April 30, 2014

Completed
4 months until next milestone

Study Start

First participant enrolled

September 1, 2014

Completed
1.6 years until next milestone

Primary Completion

Last participant's last visit for primary outcome

April 1, 2016

Completed
Same day until next milestone

Study Completion

Last participant's last visit for all outcomes

April 1, 2016

Completed
Last Updated

April 30, 2014

Status Verified

April 1, 2014

Enrollment Period

1.6 years

First QC Date

April 9, 2014

Last Update Submit

April 28, 2014

Conditions

Keywords

Anxiety disordersDepressive disordersPersonality disordersPsychodynamic psychotherapyCognitive-behavioral psychotherapyGroup psychotherapyDay treatment

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (18)

  • State-Trait Anxiety Inventory

    State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, Jacobs, 1983; Polish version: Wrześniewski, Sosnowski, Matusik, 2002). The STAI measures a person's situational (or state) anxiety, as well as the amount of anxiety a person generally feels most of the time (trait). The two self-report scales contain 20 items each.

    week 0 (baseline)

  • Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale

    Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A; Hamilton, 1959; Polish translation). The HAM-A is an interviewer-administered and rated measure of the severity of anxiety symptoms. The scale consists of 14 items, each defined by a series of symptoms, and measures both psychic anxiety (mental agitation and psychological distress) and somatic anxiety (physical complaints related to anxiety).

    week 0 (baseline)

  • Clinical Global Impression - Severity scale

    Clinical Global Impression - Severity scale (CGI-S; Guy, 1976; Polish translation). CGI-S is a 7-point scale that requires the clinician to rate the severity of the patient's illness at the time of assessment, relative to the clinician's past experience with patients who have the same diagnosis.

    week 0 (baseline)

  • Clinical Global Impression - Improvement scale

    Clinical Global Impression - Improvement scale (CGI-I; Guy, 1976; Polish translation). CGI-I is a 7 point scale that requires the clinician to assess how much the patient's illness has improved or worsened relative to a baseline state at the beginning of the intervention.

    week 0 (baseline)

  • Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5

    Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5 (M.I.N.I.; Sheehan et al., 1998; Polish version: Masiak \& Przychoda, 1998). M.I.N.I. is a short diagnostic interview based on the DSM-IV criteria that focus on the existence of current psychiatric disorders. It consists of separate modules to diagnose specific disorders.

    week 0 (screening)

  • Becks Depression Inventory II

    Becks Depression Inventory II (BDI-II; Beck, Brown \& Steer, 1996; Polish version: Zawadzki, Popiel \& Pragłowska, 2009) is a 21-item self-report inventory used to assess DSM-IV depressive symptoms. Each item consists of four statements, indicating increasing symptom severity.

    week 0 (screening)

  • State-Trait Anxiety Inventory

    State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, Jacobs, 1983; Polish version: Wrześniewski, Sosnowski, Matusik, 2002). The STAI measures a person's situational (or state) anxiety, as well as the amount of anxiety a person generally feels most of the time (trait). The two self-report scales contain 20 items each.

    week 12 (end of treatment)

  • Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale

    Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A; Hamilton, 1959; Polish translation). The HAM-A is an interviewer-administered and rated measure of the severity of anxiety symptoms. The scale consists of 14 items, each defined by a series of symptoms, and measures both psychic anxiety (mental agitation and psychological distress) and somatic anxiety (physical complaints related to anxiety).

    week 12 (end of treatment)

  • Clinical Global Impression - Severity scale

    Clinical Global Impression - Severity scale (CGI-S; Guy, 1976; Polish translation). CGI-S is a 7-point scale that requires the clinician to rate the severity of the patient's illness at the time of assessment, relative to the clinician's past experience with patients who have the same diagnosis.

    week 12 (end of treatment)

  • Clinical Global Impression - Improvement scale

    Clinical Global Impression - Improvement scale (CGI-I; Guy, 1976; Polish translation). CGI-I is a 7 point scale that requires the clinician to assess how much the patient's illness has improved or worsened relative to a baseline state at the beginning of the intervention.

    week 12 (end of treatment)

  • Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5

    Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5 (M.I.N.I.; Sheehan et al., 1998; Polish version: Masiak \& Przychoda, 1998). M.I.N.I. is a short diagnostic interview based on the DSM-IV criteria that focus on the existence of current psychiatric disorders. It consists of separate modules to diagnose specific disorders.

    week 12 (end of treatment)

  • Becks Depression Inventory II

    Becks Depression Inventory II (BDI-II; Beck, Brown \& Steer, 1996; Polish version: Zawadzki, Popiel \& Pragłowska, 2009) is a 21-item self-report inventory used to assess DSM-IV depressive symptoms. Each item consists of four statements, indicating increasing symptom severity.

    week 12 (end of treatment)

  • State-Trait Anxiety Inventory

    State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI; Spielberger, Gorsuch, Lushene, Vagg, Jacobs, 1983; Polish version: Wrześniewski, Sosnowski, Matusik, 2002). The STAI measures a person's situational (or state) anxiety, as well as the amount of anxiety a person generally feels most of the time (trait). The two self-report scales contain 20 items each.

    week 24 (follow-up)

  • Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale

    Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A; Hamilton, 1959; Polish translation). The HAM-A is an interviewer-administered and rated measure of the severity of anxiety symptoms. The scale consists of 14 items, each defined by a series of symptoms, and measures both psychic anxiety (mental agitation and psychological distress) and somatic anxiety (physical complaints related to anxiety).

    week 24 (follow-up)

  • Clinical Global Impression - Severity scale

    Clinical Global Impression - Severity scale (CGI-S; Guy, 1976; Polish translation). CGI-S is a 7-point scale that requires the clinician to rate the severity of the patient's illness at the time of assessment, relative to the clinician's past experience with patients who have the same diagnosis.

    week 24 (follow-up)

  • Clinical Global Impression - Improvement scale

    Clinical Global Impression - Improvement scale (CGI-I; Guy, 1976; Polish translation). CGI-I is a 7 point scale that requires the clinician to assess how much the patient's illness has improved or worsened relative to a baseline state at the beginning of the intervention.

    week 24 (follow-up)

  • Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5

    Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview 5 (M.I.N.I.; Sheehan et al., 1998; Polish version: Masiak \& Przychoda, 1998). M.I.N.I. is a short diagnostic interview based on the DSM-IV criteria that focus on the existence of current psychiatric disorders. It consists of separate modules to diagnose specific disorders.

    week 24 (follow-up)

  • Becks Depression Inventory II

    Becks Depression Inventory II (BDI-II; Beck, Brown \& Steer, 1996; Polish version: Zawadzki, Popiel \& Pragłowska, 2009) is a 21-item self-report inventory used to assess DSM-IV depressive symptoms. Each item consists of four statements, indicating increasing symptom severity.

    week 24 (follow-up)

Secondary Outcomes (34)

  • Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders Questionnaire

    week 0 (screening)

  • Symptoms Checklist

    week 0 (baseline)

  • Self-Esteem Scale

    week 0 (baseline)

  • Defense Style Questionnaire

    week 0 (baseline)

  • Personality Beliefs Questionnaire

    week 0 (baseline)

  • +29 more secondary outcomes

Study Arms (3)

Intensive Group Analytic Psychotherapy

EXPERIMENTAL

Intensive Group Analytic Psychotherapy in a day clinic setting

Behavioral: Intensive Group Analytic Psychotherapy

Intensive GCBT

EXPERIMENTAL

Intensive transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral group therapy in a day clinic setting

Behavioral: Intensive transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral group therapy

Wait-list control group

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

The form of intensive group analytic therapy to be used in the trial has been manualized by the research team for the study. It is rooted in group analysis tradition (Bion 1961; Foulkes \& Anthony, 1965). It is based on two recent group analytic psychotherapy manuals, one developed by Lorentzen (2014), the other by Garland (2010). The manual has been adapted to day treatment setting and also draws on polish psychoanalytical group experiences practiced in a public service. Like in other psychodynamic short-term therapies this approach is more structured and focused on issues relevant to symptoms relief. Thereby additional techniques are used: psychodrama, non-verbal techniques, movie therapy, memoir, summary or relaxation.

Intensive Group Analytic Psychotherapy

GCBT was designed for treatment in naturalistic settings of diagnostically mixed anxiety disorder patients with comorbid Personality Disorders (PD's) (Holas, Szaniawska, Suszek, Błażejewski, \& Kokoszka, in prep.). It is based on the transdiagnostic approach to emotional and particularly anxiety disorders that has been developed over the past ten years (Barlow, 2000; Barlow, Allen, \& Choate, 2004; Norton, 2006), additionally it includes interventions for personality disorders based of schema therapy and modes of personality disorders. This approach assumes a high overlap between anxiety disorders and is focused on the common aspects of them. Intensive GCBT developed by our group shares the classical assumptions of cognitive-behavioral therapy (Beck, 1976).

Intensive GCBT

Eligibility Criteria

Age18 Years - 65 Years
Sexall
Healthy VolunteersNo
Age GroupsAdult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

  • Current diagnosis of Axis I anxiety disorder (based on M.I.N.I.)
  • Diagnosis of comorbid personality disorder (based on SCID II) or depressive disorder (based on M.I.N.I.)
  • Age: 18 to 65 years
  • Sufficient knowledge of the Polish language
  • Written informed consent of the patient

You may not qualify if:

  • Organic disorder
  • Acute substance related disorders
  • Schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder
  • Severe depression \[over 26 points in Beck Questionnaire\] or bipolar disorder.
  • Dissocial personality disorder, schizotypal personality disorder
  • Current suicidal ideation with a high risk of suicide
  • Restriction of intellectual capacity
  • Serious unstable medical problems/complications
  • Concurrent psychotherapeutic treatment
  • Failed treatment of CBT or psychodynamic psychotherapy for anxiety

Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.

Sponsors & Collaborators

Study Sites (1)

Hospital of Wola

Warsaw, Warsaw, 01-211, Poland

Location

Related Publications (3)

  • Gibbon S, Khalifa NR, Cheung NH, Vollm BA, McCarthy L. Psychological interventions for antisocial personality disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 Sep 3;9(9):CD007668. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007668.pub3.

  • Storebo OJ, Stoffers-Winterling JM, Vollm BA, Kongerslev MT, Mattivi JT, Jorgensen MS, Faltinsen E, Todorovac A, Sales CP, Callesen HE, Lieb K, Simonsen E. Psychological therapies for people with borderline personality disorder. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2020 May 4;5(5):CD012955. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD012955.pub2.

  • Suszek H, Holas P, Wyrzykowski T, Lorentzen S, Kokoszka A. Short-term intensive psychodynamic group therapy versus cognitive-behavioral group therapy in day treatment of anxiety disorders and comorbid depressive or personality disorders: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial. Trials. 2015 Jul 29;16:319. doi: 10.1186/s13063-015-0827-6.

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Anxiety DisordersDepressive DisorderPersonality Disorders

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Mental DisordersMood Disorders

Study Officials

  • Andrzej Kokoszka, MD, PhD

    Medical University of Warsaw

    PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Andrzej Kokoszka, MD, PhD

CONTACT

Paweł Holas, MD, PhD

CONTACT

Study Design

Study Type
interventional
Phase
not applicable
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Masking
SINGLE
Who Masked
OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
Purpose
TREATMENT
Intervention Model
FACTORIAL
Sponsor Type
OTHER
Responsible Party
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
PI Title
Professor, MD, PhD

Study Record Dates

First Submitted

April 9, 2014

First Posted

April 30, 2014

Study Start

September 1, 2014

Primary Completion

April 1, 2016

Study Completion

April 1, 2016

Last Updated

April 30, 2014

Record last verified: 2014-04

Locations