Evaluating supportive psychotherapy vs life skills therapy in MDD

Introduction ‐ CBT has been the most‐studied psychotherapy in MDD but literature regarding efficacy of other psychotherapies are limited. In this study we compared the efficacy of both supportive psychotherapy and life skills therapy. Methodology ‐All OPD patients above 18 yr and below 60 yr were screened for MDD (DSM‐V) and consented eligible patients ( n =60 ) were randomized to recieve either Supportive Psychotherapy ( n =60) or the Life Skills therapy( n =60) .Total 20 session of psychotherapy for 45 min‐1 hour and fluoxetine upto 40 mg was given in both groups during 12 weeks of study period.The primary outcome measure was the improvement in the HAM‐D scores. Secondary outcomes were postbaseline changes in QOL ratings on different domains. Results ‐ Total 53 patients has completed the study ,three patients withdrew consent due to adrs,and four patient were lost in follow up so drop out rate was 10% and 13.33% in both groups respectively .There were no significant differences in HAM‐D ratings between groups either at baseline or at any assessment point afterwards. The data shows that improvement in HAM‐D scores between baseline and endpoint, was significant for both Groups (p< 0.001) .At the 12 weeks, response rate was 80% Vs 83.3% and remission rate was 66.6% vs 68.33%. in both groups respectively, and groups did not differ significantly . Conclusion‐These results shows that even well designed supportive psychotherapy of short duration without much active intervention by therapist is as effective as life skills therapy in which lot of intervention and expertise required.