Preventing worriers today from developing depression tomorrow
Study on effect of preventative treatment for anxiety disorders and depression
Dr Thomas Ehring and Professor Paul Emmelkamp, psychologists at the University of Amsterdam, received a €243,000 subsidy from the Netherlands organisation for health research and development (ZonMw) to study the effect of a preventative treatment for worriers.
Excessive worrying and pondering - repeatedly experiencing negative thoughts about one's sense of feeling down - can lead to depressions and anxiety disorders. Dr Thomas Ehring and Professor Paul Emmelkamp, psychologists at the University of Amsterdam, received a €243,000 subsidy from the Netherlands organisation for health research and development (ZonMw) to study the effect of a preventative treatment for worriers.When it comes to depression or anxiety disorders, an ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure. Once a person has succumbed to depression or developed an anxiety disorder he or she runs a significant risk of encountering the same problems again in the future. Add the considerable impact on the quality of life and the high cost to society and the only conclusion is that prevention-oriented efforts must be stepped up. However, earlier studies show that the effect of prevention programmes is marginal. Still, Dr Thomas Ehring, Professor Paul Emmelkamp and doctoral candidate Maurice Topper received a ZonMw subsidy for an effect study on a preventative treatment for young worriers. "The prevention programmes currently offered are frequently geared to entire classes," Topper explains. "While this allows you to sidestep potential stigma, the ultimate effect is negligible considering that only some of the youngsters belong to the risk group." Ehring adds: "And for the youngsters who do worry excessively, the training may fall just shy of the mark. This is why we are focusing our study specifically on the risk groups: young people who suffer from excessively worrying and pondering."
Three groups of 110 youngsters
Ehring and Topper are recruiting 330 youngsters from the freshman student bodies at the University of Amsterdam, the Hogeschool van Amsterdam, University of Applied Sciences, and numerous secondary schools. This group will be split into three sub-groups: a control group that will not receive any help; a group that will participate in group training; and a group that will be offered training online. The preventative, six-week training is based on a protocol developed by Professor Ed Watkins (University of Exeter, UK). The training consists of psycho-education (what is worrying, why is it harmful, what are other types of thinking) and various interventions for learning how to deal with problems and negative events differently. For example, participants learn how to see their problems in a new light and how to solve their problems effectively.Staying trapped in negative thoughts
Ehring: "The training is based on two of Watkins' important findings. One, he concluded that worrying and pondering is characterised by an abstract processing style, while a functional processing style is much more concrete. With abstract thinking people stay trapped in their negative thoughts (why do things go wrong, why am I so down), whereas a functional processing style calls for thinking in terms of solutions: what can I do to make things better. In addition, Watkins concluded that pondering and worrying are methods of avoidance: people stay trapped in their negative thoughts without needing to find a solution. This is what we try to change during the training sessions."Small-scale pilot study
In order to establish to effect of the training, the researchers will conduct assessments prior to, immediately after and one year after the training. Topper: "Personally, I would love to see that the Internet training has the same effect as the group approach. That way we will have multiple effective variations of the same training and can determine which variation best suits each individual."Early next year Ehring, Emmelkamp and Topper will launch a small-scale pilot study that allows participants to offer suggestions for improvement. The researchers hope to commence the actual study in September 2010.
Author: Esther van Bochove, FMG Communication Department