Background: Recurrent depression implies tremendous social and financial costs in the form of impaired relationships, lost productivity, continued use of drugs, and inappropriate use of health services and general practitioners. Despite the large economical investments the treatment of recurrent depressive disorders is currently only moderately successful. Increased evidence suggests a significant relationship between recurrent depressive disorders, stressful life events and psychological traumas. Trauma-focused Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) are the two first-line treatments of the psychological effects of traumas according to international guidelines. Recent studies suggest that EMDR may be effective in improving depressive symptoms and quality of life of patients. This is the first multicenter randomized controlled trial that investigates the efficacy of EMDR and CBT as adjunctive treatment in comparison with CBT in treating recurrent depression.
Aims: The main purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of EMDR in treating recurrent depression as compared to CBT, in order to prove the role of EMDR as an elective intervention also in this specific population. Furthermore, as a secondary aim, we evaluated the efficacy of EMDR and CBT on quality of life and depression-associated symptoms.
Methods: A randomized clinical controlled trial with patients with recurrent depression comparing EMDR and CBT as adjunctive treatment to TAU (antidepressant medication). The primary outcome measure was the response rate in different treatment arms including the number of complete remissions, as measured by a Beck Depression Inventory-II score <13.
Results: Preliminary results showed that the majority of patients were able to significantly reduce their depressive symptoms after only 15 therapy sessions. EMDR treatment appears to be as effective as CBT in reducing depressive symptoms. Both treatments are effective in reducing anxiety and in improving quality of life.
Conclusion: Although results can only be considered preliminary, this study suggests that EMDR could be a viable and effective treatment in reducing depressive symptoms and in improving quality of life of these patients.
