RESET-psychotherapy: the Effectiveness of Trauma-focused Therapy in Patients With Depression and Childhood Trauma

TAU for depression will be largely determined by the Dutch multidisciplinary practice guideline on depression (Spijker et al., 2013). This means that patients with CT-related depression will receive good clinical care, e.g. evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or interpersonal therapy (IPT) combined with/or pharmacotherapy. Therapists who give TAU are not allowed to provide a trauma-focused intervention aimed at CT during the 12-week intervention period.

The content of TFT, delivered by another therapist than the therapist that will provide TAU, depends on the type of CT the patient reports. If the patient predominantly reports experiences of abuse, there are often clear memories of this abuse ('target images') present and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is recommended as the treatment strategy. If the patient predominantly reports experiences of neglect, memories are often less identifiable, although these experiences can have a big impact on the development of maladaptive schemas. In this case, imagery rescripting (ImRs) is recommended as treatment strategy. If the patient reports both experiences of abuse and neglect, the therapist will discuss with the patient which type of CT has the greatest impact on the current depressive symptoms and starts with the indicated therapy. If indicated, the therapist can switch between EMDR and ImRs after a minimum of 4 sessions.