Psychodynamic psychotherapy for mood disorders – what’s the evidence?

About

In this hybrid webinar we will present a mixed-methods review of the current evidence for long-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (LTPP) for mood disorders, as well as our interview study exploring the lived experiences of patients, therapists and carers.

Mood disorders refer to a diverse cluster of common and disabling disorders, marked by persistent depressed mood, anhedonia, and a range of cognitive and physical symptoms that can profoundly reduce quality of life. Epidemiological studies show that severe or chronic mood disorders are often accompanied by other psychiatric comorbidities, such as anxiety and personality disorders, which can complicate treatment and limit the effectiveness of brief interventions.

For these individuals, often described as having ‘complex’ forms of depression, LTPP may be indicated, as more time is typically needed to build a robust therapeutic alliance, restore epistemic trust, and revise entrenched self- and other-representations.

In October 2023 the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists commissioned our Research Group, based at Anna Freud and University College London, to undertake a review of the evidence base for the effectiveness of LTPP for mood disorders. The research we undertook involved three interrelated components which we will present in this webinar:

• A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effectiveness of LTPP and comparator treatments for mood disorder
• A qualitative systematic review and meta-aggregation of evidence in relation to the treatment of mood disorders from the perspective of patients, therapists and carers
• A qualitative semi-structured interview study of attitudes to the treatment of mood disorders from the perspectives of patients, therapists and carers based in in Australia and New Zealand

Speakers

Max Moser

Max Moser joined the psychoanalysis unit in 2022 after completing his MSc in Psychological Sciences. He is the first author on the RANZCP mood disorders review, which has been completed as a major component of his PhD studies.

Chloe Campbell

Chloe is Deputy Director of the Psychoanalysis Unit, UCL. Her research interests include mentalizing, epistemic trust and attachment theory. She supervises students on both the Psychoanalysis Unit's Doctoral Programme and teaches and supervises students on the MSc in Theoretical Psychoanalysis and the MSc in Psychological Sciences.

Angela Barrett

Angela joined the Psychoanalysis Unit in 2018 as Research Communications Officer, after previously working as a post-doc in UCL’s Department of Respiratory Medicine. She completed her PhD studies in Molecular Biology. She has been working on the RANZCP mood disorders review and its associated publications since 2023.

Image credit: Silhouetted tree by Philip Halling