The Comparison of the Effect of Memory Specificity Training, Behavioral Activation Treatment, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on Treatment-Resistant Depression

Treatment-resistant depression is a severe form of major depression that often fails with multiple treatments with standard antidepressants and has a poor long-term prognosis. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of memory specificity training, behavioral activation treatment, and cognitive behavioral therapy on treatment-resistant depression.

This is a semi-experimental research with pre-test, post-test and follow-up with a control group. The participants are all patients with treatment-resistant depression in Rafsanjan, Iran. Sixty patients with treatment-resistant depression who referred to a psychiatrist and two psychologists in 2017 were selected. They were randomly divided into four groups of 15 persons; three experimental and one control groups. Data were collected by Beck depression, rumination and dysfunctional attitude questionnaire.

The results have shown a significant difference in the post-test depression of all three treatment groups compared to the control group. This difference was also evident in the follow-up phase. Furthermore, there was a significant difference in the rumination variable between the memory specificity training and behavioral activation in the post-test and follow-up stages. In addition, there was a significant difference in the attitude level between the memory specificity training and behavioral activation in the post-test phase and between the memory specificity training and cognitive-behavioral therapy and behavioral activation in the follow-up phase.

According to the results, the use of psychotherapy, especially memory specificity training, is suggested as an effective psychological intervention in the management of treatment-resistant depression.