Cognitive behavioral therapy in combination with systemic family therapy improves mild to moderate postpartum depression

Abstract

Objective: To explore the effect of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in combination with systemic family therapy (SFT) on mild to moderate postpartum depression and sleep quality. Methods: 249 primiparous women with mild to moderate postpartum depression were recruited and randomly assigned to a control group (n=128), which received conventional postpartum care, or to a psychological intervention group (n=121), which received conventional postpartum care combined with psychological intervention. The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were employed to evaluate depression and sleep quality, respectively. Results: 104 patients in the intervention group and 109 in the control group completed the study. After intervention, the EPDS score, PSQI score, sleep quality score, sleep latency score, sleep duration score, habitual sleep efficiency score, sleep disturbance score, and daytime dysfunction score were significantly lower in the intervention group than in the control group. The EPDS and PSQI scores of each group at different time points after intervention were markedly decreased compared with those before intervention, and the reduction in the intervention group was more evident than that in the control group. Conclusion: CBT in combination with SFT can improve depression and sleep quality in patients with mild to moderate postpartum depression.

Profiles and characteristics of clinical subtypes of perinatal depressive symptoms: A latent class analysis

“…Research on empirically or clinically relevant subtypes of perinatal depressive symptoms has been a focus of targeted medicine, such as acupuncture for depression (Manber et al, ) and the development of PPD‐targeted drugs (Pearson, ; Therapeutics, ). Some studies have focused on psychological interventions that may prevent or improve perinatal depression, such as cognitive behaviorial therapy (Hou et al, ), mindfulness‐based interventions (Dimidjian et al, ) and sleep quality interventions (Gjerdingen et al, ; Kempler, Sharpe, Miller, & Bartlett, ; Lawson, Murphy, Sloan, Uleryk, & Dalfen, ), in response to fear of the teratogenic effects of pharmacological intervention. However, to the best of our knowledge, a targeted treatment approach has not yet been identified.…”

Strategy Intervention to Prevent and Reduce Postpartum Depression: A Systematic Review

“…Another study applying CBT was focused on CBT combined with systemic family therapy. It improved depression and sleep quality in the patients with mild to moderate postpartum depression (Hou et al, 2014).…”

The Current Situation on Major Depressive Disorder in China: Research on Mechanisms and Clinical Practice

“…Hou et al [69] reported that CBT in combination with systematic family therapy can improve mild to moderate postpartum depression. A randomized controlled trial [70] compared the effectiveness of a physical fitness exercise program and CBT in elderly depressed patients, and the results revealed that the CBT group gained more perceived social support and alleviation of depressive symptoms, whereas better improvement in energy and quality of life was reported in the fitness exercise group.…”