Auswirkungen von verschiedenen therapeutischen Ansätzen zur Behandlung von Depressionen auf das dyadische Copingverhalten

Background: Existing evidence documents a correlation between marital communication patterns and the course of depression. However, there is relatively little evidence regarding the impact of different therapy approaches for depression on marital communication. Method: Analyses of variance were used to examine the effects (pre-post) of cognitive behavior therapy (n = 17 couples), interpersonal psychotherapy (n = 13 couples) and coping-oriented couple therapy (n = 17 couples) on observed dyadic conflict communication of both partners in couples with a depressed partner. Results: All three treatments produced similar improvements in depression in patients and decreases in criticism/defensiveness of patients and their partners. Further the three therapy approaches showed different effects on the communication of partners. Conclusion: In view of the potential importance of marital communication for long-term course of depression as well as of the marital relationship, the current results suggest the benefit of including partners in therapy with depressed patients and the potential utility of COCT as treatment modality