Same same but Different; Psychological Interventions and how to Mind the Knowledge Practice Gap

The current PhD project aims at extending on existent literature on the effectiveness of modern psychotherapies and predictors of their effectiveness. The RCT involved in this PhD project aims to deliver a real-world, real-time intervention for patients with an at-risk mental state for psychosis as well as patients suffering from a first-episode psychosis, targeting underlying mechanisms of increased stress-sensitivity and altered reward-experience in an effort to improve clinical and general functioning and prevent transition to chronic psychotic complaints. The intervention will be based on principles of the new generation behavioural therapy, including detachment, acceptance and commitment to values. This intervention will be tested in a randomised controlled clinical trial, with clinical and general functioning as primary outcomes; stress-sensitivity and reward experiences in daily-life will be secondary outcomes. We hypothesize that the intervention will improve clinical and general functioning, decrease stress- and increase reward-sensitivity. Moreover, this dissertation aims at reviewing the current status of ecological momentary assessment (i.e. assessment in the individuals' real life environment) and ecological momentary interventions, as well as providing insights into the effectiveness of other current psychotherapies for psychotic and depressive symptoms, such as Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, Motivational Interviewing and Cognitive Therapy, and a modern variant of behavioral activation that integrates ecological momentary assessment into the treatment protocol.

Publication year:2018

Accessibility:Open