A comparative study of the efficacy of group positive psychotherapy and group cognitive behavioral therapy in the treatment of depressive disorders: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

This study examined the efficacy of Positive Psychotherapy (PPT) as an alternative approach to the treatment of depression and contrasted it with the well-established Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Ninety-two individuals who met DSM-IV criteria for a depressive disorder were randomly assigned to either manualized group PPT or group CBT. The primary outcome measures were posttreatment and 6-month follow-up changes in self-reported and observer-rated depressiveness. The secondary outcome measure was general psychological distress. Additionally, potential moderating variables were tested and satisfaction with treatment was assessed as an additional criterion for evaluation. Based on intention-to-treat analyses using linear mixed models, PPT showed consistently moderate to high within- and between-group effect sizes, which were larger compared to those for CBT. Overall satisfaction with therapy, however, did not differ significantly between groups. None of the tested moderators significantly influenced therapy success. Our findings support the efficacy of group PPT over an active control condition.