Telephone-administered Relapse Prevention for Depression
Condition: Depressive Disorder
MeSH terms: Recurrence; Depression; Depressive Disorder
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This study determines the effectiveness of telephone-delivered cognitive-behavioral
      continuation therapy (T-CT) in comparison to usual care in people with recurrent or chronic
      depression. The primary research question is whether participating in T-CT reduces depressive
      relapses. The continuation therapy comprises eight therapy sessions delivered over the
      telephone by a trained therapist over a period of approximately six months following
      acute-phase psychotherapy.
    

Detailed description: 
      Major depression is a serious mental disorder that often takes a recurrent or chronic course
      causing enduring individual suffering as well as immense direct and indirect health costs.
      Research indicates that psychological continuation interventions following successful
      acute-phase therapy are effective in preventing depressive relapse and recurrence but access
      to these interventions is limited. Systematic psychological continuation interventions are
      hardly implemented in health care yet, and research shows that there are obstacles concerning
      access to and compliance for these interventions in a face-to-face setting underlining the
      need for alternative ways of delivery. The present study ("NaTel study") aims to investigate
      the effectiveness of telephone-administered cognitive-behavioral continuation therapy (T-CT)
      following acute-phase psychotherapy. The primary research question is whether participating
      in T-CT reduces depressive relapses within an observation period of 18 months compared with
      usual care alone. T-CT comprises eight therapy sessions delivered over the telephone by a
      trained therapist over a period of approximately six months after acute-phase therapy. Focus
      of the structured intervention is to train and foster relapse prevention strategies and to
      facilitate the transfer of skills acquired during acute-phase therapy to daily life. The
      effectiveness of T-CT as add-on to usual care is tested in a two-parallel group, multicenter,
      evaluator-blind clinical trial in patients with chronic/persistent or recurrent depressive
      disorder. Upon acute-phase therapy termination patients who have responded to cognitive
      behavioral therapy are randomized either to T-CT or usual care alone. Primary outcome of this
      study is relapse of a depressive episode. Relapse is determined by investigators blind to the
      study conditions based on clinical interviews conducted at months 6, 12, and 18 of follow-up.
      Further secondary outcome criteria are assessed with interviews and self-report
      questionnaires at various time points during follow-up. Overall, the study lasts
      approximately 48 months.
    

Intervention name(s): Telephone-administered continuation therapy; Usual care
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Other
Intervention description(s): The intervention includes eight therapy sessions of approx. 50 minutes duration delivered over the telephone by trained psychotherapists over a time period of six months. The intervention is grounded in the principles of psychological continuation therapy and relapse prevention, and includes strategies such as transferring helpful elements of acute-phase cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for depression to daily life. T-CT is offered in addition to usual care.; Usual care without any study-related intervention
Other intervention name(s): Treatment as usual (TAU)
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: Relapse prevention; Persistent depressive disorder; Recurrent depressive disorder; Telephone-based intervention; Cognitive behavioral therapy