Comparison of Clinical Significance of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy and Psychodynamic Therapy for Major Depressive Disorder: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two brief psychotherapy models for major depressive disorder (MDD). This is a randomized clinical trial with 247 individuals diagnosed with MDD. Supportive-expressive dynamic psychotherapy (SEDP) (18 sessions) and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) (16 sessions) were the two models used in this study. Participants were evaluated at baseline, during treatment, and postintervention (last session). Clinically significant changes were found in both psychotherapy models, and CBT showed higher response rates. Regarding the Beck Depression Inventory-II [F(1,120) = 4.07, p = 0.046] and Outcome Questionnaire 45.2 [F(1.114) = 7.99, p = 0.006], CBT had a better effect than SEDP. Hence, the results obtained have contributed to literature, served to corroborate the importance and effectiveness of psychodynamic psychotherapy, as well as explored the mechanisms of change, remission, and response in the treatment of MDD, which have been ignored to a large extent.