Psychosocial treatment of depression in women: Nine single subject evaluations

Social workers are increasingly likely to deal with clients presenting symptoms of major depres-sion. Because of risk of suicide, increased health care costs, plus the lack of available resources and new methodologies, short-term approaches should be studied. The National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Study on Depression determined that two of the most promis-ing short-term approaches developed for the treatment of depression have been Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Interpersonal Psychotherapy. This current study explores the effective-ness of integrating these two approaches in a new, short-term social work intervention model for treating major depression. A single-subject, nonconcurrent, multiple-baseline, across-individuals design was used to test the effectiveness of this new integrated treatment modality through use of the Beck Depression Inventory and the Social Adjustment Scale. The findings revealed that this new integrated modality was effective in decreasing the level of depression. Social workers are increasingly likely to deal with clients presenting symp-toms of major depression. Because of risk of suicide and increased health care costs, plus the lack of available resources and new methodologies, short-term approaches should be studied