Positivity approach training for depressive symptoms: A randomized controlled trial.
OBJECTIVE Depression is highly comorbid and depressive symptoms are very common. Symptom severity adversely affects treatment outcome and later health status. Established interventions for depression leave ample room for improvement. Short interventions that target specific vulnerabilities emerge as plausible augmentation strategies. In this study, we tested the efficacy of a computerized general positivity approach training and its effect on depressive symptoms. METHODS Patients (N 240) with various diagnoses of mental disorders who received treatment as usual in an inpatient setting were randomly assigned to also receive either 4 sessions of a positivity approach training or 4 sessions of sham training. Depression severity was assessed at baseline and post treatment. Training data were analyzed for a subset of 111 patients. RESULTS Depressive symptoms were reduced more after positivity approach training than after sham training. Initial depression symptom severity moderated the intervention effects, such that approach tendencies and depression symptoms were only affected positively among patients with higher levels of initial depression symptom severity. CONCLUSIONS The findings provide preliminary support for positivity approach training as an add on treatment option for depressive symptoms.
Journal of affective disorders