Moderators and predictors of treatment outcome in transdiagnostic group cognitive-behavioral therapy for primary care patients with emotional disorders.

OBJECTIVE

Transdiagnostic group cognitive behavior therapy (TD-GCBT) has shown to be efficacious in the treatment of emotional disorders in primary care. However, little is known about possible moderators or predictors of treatment outcome. We aimed to explore the potential predictors and moderators of outcome in a large multicentre randomized controlled trial comparing TD-GCBT plus treatment as usual (TAU) to TAU alone.

METHOD: Putative demographic and baseline clinical variables were examined using the PROCESS macro as potential predictors/moderators of depressive and anxiety symptoms at posttreatment and 1-year follow-up.

RESULTS

Analyses were based on a study completer sample of 1061 participants randomized to TD-CBT + TAU (n = 527) or TAU alone (n = 534), with 631 participants assessed at the posttreatment evaluation and 388 at the 1-year follow-up. Individuals working or with a partner among sociodemographic variables, and higher baseline comorbidities and more severity of symptoms among clinical variables obtained more benefits from adding TDCBT to TAU. Those taking medication before treatment obtained less benefits from the TD-GCBT than those without prescribed antidepressant medications, after controlling for baseline severity of symptoms. Overall, the moderating effect of clinical (but not sociodemographic) variables remained at 1-year follow-up.

CONCLUSION

Findings support largely the generalization of the TD-GCBT for emotional disorders in primary care to a variety of sociodemographic and clinical groups. However, TD-GCBT seems to work to a greater extent for those individuals with a more severe clinical profile. Providing TD-GCBT before prescribing antidepressant medication and while people are still working may enhance the effects of adding this psychological treatment to TAU in primary care.