Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to Sustain the Antidepressant Effects of Ketamine in Treatment-Resistant Depression: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics January 1, 2021 Samuel t. Wilkinson, Taeho greg Rhee, Jutta Joormann et al. 102 citations
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) may help sustain the antidepressant effects of ketamine in people with treatment-resistant depression. In a trial, 42 patients with treatment-resistant depression received six intravenous ketamine infusions over three weeks. The 28 who responded were then randomized to CBT or treatment as usual for 14 weeks. On one depression scale, the CBT group showed significantly greater sustained improvement, with a moderate-to-large effect size. A smaller subset of ketamine responders also improved in emotional cognitive accuracy, while nonresponders did not. The findings are preliminary and need confirmation in larger trials.