Symposia
Cognitive Science/ Cognitive Processes
Lu Dong, Ph.D.
Associate Behavioral and Social Scientist
RAND Corporation
Santa Monica, California
Garret Zieve, M.A.
Graduate Student
University of California, Berkeley
Oakland, California
Nicole B. Gumport, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Stanford University
Stanford, California
Courtney Armstrong, MA
Doctoral Candidate
University of California Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Cynthia Alvarado-Martinez, BS
Clinical Research Coordinator
University of California Davis
Sacramento, California
Armando Martinez, BA
Research Administration
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
San Francisco, California
Shayna Howlett, BA
Community Facilitator
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Eve Fine, LCSW
Therapist
University of California Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Melanie Tran, PhD
Doctoral Student
University of Illinois at Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Mary E. McNamara, M.A.
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas
Claire Weaver, MEd
Doctoral Student
Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
Chicago, Illinois
Alison Tuck, BA
Doctoral Student
Washington University in St. Louis
ST. LOUIS, Missouri
Heather Hilmoe, BA
Doctoral Student
California State University, Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Emma Agnew, LCSW, LCSW
Research Associate, Community Supervisor and Facilitator
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Krista R. Fisher, BA
Research Associate and Community Facilitator
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Marlen Diaz, BA
Doctoral Student
University of California Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Jason Lee, PhD
Clinical Psychologist
University of California Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Steven Hollon, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology and Human Development, Psychiatry
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN
Haruka Notsu, MA
Doctoral Student
Pennsylvania State University
State College, Pennsylvania
Allison G. Harvey, Ph.D.
Professor
University of California, Berkeley
BERKELEY, California
Background: This talk will present the findings from the main analyses of a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of the Memory Support Intervention (MSI) on enhancing patient memory for treatment and clinical outcomes in adults with major depressive disorder. MSI was derived based on evidence from the cognitive psychology and education literatures. MSI was added to cognitive therapy (CT+Memory Support) compared to cognitive therapy as usual (CT-as-usual) in adults with major depressive disorders (MDD). The premises for this line of research are based on poor memory for treatment, which is associated with suboptimal adherence and clinical outcomes. The MSI is comprised of eight memory promoting strategies—attention recruitment, categorization, evaluation, application, repetition, practice remembering, cued-based reminder and praise recall—that are proactively, strategically and intensively integrated into treatment-as-usual to support encoding of treatment content.
Methods: Adults diagnosed with MDD (N = 178) were randomly allocated to CT+Memory Support (n = 91) or CT-as-usual (n = 87). Both treatments were comprised of 20 to 26, 50-minute sessions over 16 weeks. Blind assessments were conducted before and immediately following treatment (Post) and 6 months later (6FU) on patient recall of treatment contents, depressive symptoms, and functional impairment.
Results: Therapist use of memory support was higher in CT+Memory Support (M = 16.54 instances per session, SD = 5.48) compared to CT-as-usual (M = 8.13 instances per session, SD = 2.98; d = 1.91, p < .001). Patient memory for treatment was higher in CT+Memory Support (M = 7.61 treatment points, SD = 4.07) compared to CT-as-usual (M = 6.16 treatment points, SD = 3.53; d = 0.35, p = 0.03) for past session recall at Post. Both treatment arms were associated with reductions in depressive symptoms and functional impairment except: CT+Memory Support exhibited lower depression severity at 6FU (b = -3.09, p = 0.050, d = -0.27), and greater reduction in unhealthy days from baseline to 6FU (b = -4.21, p = 0.010, d = -1.07), compared to CT-as-usual.
Discussion: While differences in illness course and functional outcomes between the two treatment arms were limited, it is possible that future analyses of the type of memory supports used and longer follow-up may yield more encouraging outcomes.