Comparing Inpatient and Outpatient Psychotherapy for Persistent Depressive Disorder Dysthymia Costs, Treatment Effects, and How Therapy Works

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating the costs and effects of two different treatment settings for dysthymia, a persistent form of depression. This study compares inpatient treatment, which is intensive and allows patients to focus on therapy without interruptions, with outpatient treatment, which is less intensive but takes place in the patients everyday environment. The study also aims to understand how psychotherapy helps improve dysthymia by examining psychological and physiological changes over time. Participants receive either high-intensity, high-dosage short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy as inpatients or low-dosage short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy as outpatients. The study uses a randomized design with single masking to assign participants to these two groups. Therapy lasts for 12 weeks, during which frequent assessments of symptoms, emotional and cognitive processes, and heart rate variability are conducted to investigate treatment effects and change mechanisms. Throughout the study, participants undergo weekly evaluations of depressive symptoms, psychological processes, and wellbeing using various scales and measurements. Follow-up assessments occur at the start, midpoint, end of therapy, and one year later to monitor changes and cost-effectiveness. The total observation includes cost analysis over one and ten years, aiming to provide a comprehensive view of treatment impact and societal costs associated with dysthymia.

Dysthymia: Associated Costs, Treatment and Change Process