Published online Mar 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i3.101190
Revised: November 6, 2024
Accepted: January 8, 2025
Published online: March 19, 2025
Processing time: 172 Days and 13.5 Hours
Depression is a prevalent mental health disorder with significant impacts on individuals and families. We hypothesize that combining family cognitive therapy (FCT) with pharmacotherapy will be more effective in managing depression and improving family dynamics than pharmacotherapy alone.
To investigate the effects of FCT combined with sertraline on depression, aggressive behavior, and family functioning in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).
This study involved 178 patients diagnosed with MDD at the Shaoxing 7th People's Hospital from January 2022 to April 2024. Patients were divided into two groups according to whether they received FCT. FCT included both patient-focused cognitive therapy and family-focused psychological guidance over a 12-week period.
The observation group receiving combined treatment showed significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory scores: 27.4 ± 4.7 to 18.6 ± 5.2) compared to the control group (28.1 ± 5.5 to 20.9 ± 4.9), with P = 0.031 for the difference between groups. Improvements in family functioning and marital quality were also observed, with P < 0.001 for key dimensions on the Family Assessment Device and Enrich Marital Scale.
The combination of FCT with sertraline effectively reduces depressive symptoms and improves family dynamics in patients with MDD.
Core Tip: The study innovatively combines family cognitive therapy with sertraline for major depressive disorder (MDD), emphasizing the importance of family involvement in treatment. This approach not only targets depressive symptoms but also aims to improve family dynamics and marital quality, providing a holistic strategy for managing MDD and its broader impacts.