Toward a Cognitive Conceptualization of Dysthymia: Cognitive Behavioral Identification and Treatment of Patients with Dysthymia.

Archival records of three groups of outpatients, seen in a U.S. behavioral health clinic during 2009 and 2010, were examined. All had taken a battery of tests and measures at admission, including both the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III) and a questionnaire representing beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors, believed to be prototypical of dysthymia. The groups, identified on the basis of their MCMI-III profiles, were Dysthymia (n = 84), nonchronic Depression (n = 58), and Control (n = 120). Significant differences were found among the groups, in that the Dysthymia group had the highest level of agreement on 25 items of the questionnaire; the nonchronic Depression group had the second highest; and the Control group had the lowest level of agreement. Conceptual and therapeutic implications are discussed, as are various modalities considered to be effective in the treatment of patients with dysthymia.