No abstract

The psychometric properties and predictive validity of the Depression Change Expectancy Scale (DCES), a modification of an expectancy scale originally developed for patients with anxiety disorders, were examined in two studies. In Study 1, the 20-item scale was administered along with a battery of questionnaires to a sample of 416 dysphoric undergraduate students and demonstrated good internal consistency. A two-factor solution most parsimoniously accounted for the variance, with one factor containing all pessimistically worded items (DCES-P) and the second containing all optimistically worded items (DCES-O). The DCES-P showed patterns of correlations with other measures of related constructs consistent with hypothesized relationships; the DCES-O showed similar, but weaker, relationships with the other measures. Multilevel modeling was used to examine the predictive utility of the DCES in a clinical sample of 63 adults (Study 2). Improved depressive symptoms (over 6 weeks) were strongly associated with optimistic expectancies but were unrelated to pessimistic expectancies for change. The DCES appears to be a promising measure of expectancies for improvement among individuals with depressive symptoms.

CBT Basics I is a psychoeducational group program originally developed as a pre-individual therapy introduction to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) skills for clients presenting with depression and/or anxiety disorders. We describe the development and content of this sixsession introductory CBT group and provide data from a 3-year pilot program. The results support the potential for symptom improvement and CBT skill acquisition, and provide preliminary evidence for the group's potential to enhance accessibility to CBT. Future directions for the development of this group are discussed, including expanding to a 10-session group model incorporating mindfulness meditation.

No abstract