Coping With Strain (CWS) course – its effects on depressive symptoms: A four‐year longitudinal randomized controlled trial

Abstract

The Coping With Strain (CWS) course is a modification of the Coping With Depression (CWD) course. CWD is by far the most studied psycho-educational intervention to reduce and prevent depression, but CWD has never been tested in a randomized controlled trial in the workplace. This study seeks to examine the extent to which CWS, on a short-term and a long-term basis, reduces depressive symptoms in employees. After advertising at workplaces, 119 employees were randomized into Intervention Group I (IG1), which immediately participated in CWS, or Intervention Group II (IG2), which functioned as a control group for six months until its participation in CWS. The follow up period lasted for four years in both IG1 and IG2. Linear mixed models were fitted to the data. Depressive symptoms were significantly reduced during the course. The reduction of depressive symptoms was maintained over a period of four years in both IG1 and IG2, although there is a slight increase towards the end of the follow-up period. CWS is effective in reducing depressive symptoms among employees. The effects are long lasting and may be maintained over a period of four years.

A redesigned training and staff support programme to enhance job retention in employees with moderate-severe depression

“…Widespread adoption of a psychotherapeutic TSSP delivered at the worksite, ideally before employees go off sick, has the potential to close the treatment gap in depression and to transform the organisational culture. One randomised controlled trial (RCT) evaluated a universal “Coping with Strain” course based on CBT delivered in group format at a worksite setting (Saelid et al , 2016). Unsurprisingly, baseline mean BDI-II scores were in the mild range.…”

Effects of a School-Based Intervention On Levels of Anxiety and Depression: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial of The MindPower Program in Ten High Schools in Norway

“…We tested an upscaled version of the Coping With Depression/Coping With Strain Course (CWD/CWS), called MindPower (17,22). The traditional CWD/CWS courses have mainly targeted high risk groups for depression and been delivered within a health service context.…”

“…MindPower is a universal adaption of the Coping With Strain (CWS) course, which in itself is a modi cation of the Coping With Depression (CWD) course. CWD/CWS interventions have been tested for 30 years in several settings (16,17), ranging from treatment facilities for depression (18,19) and adolescents (20), to workplaces (21,22). However, most of these initiatives have targeted groups with an elevated risk.…”

Challenges in establishing positive mental health effects of a school-based intervention: a cluster-randomized controlled trial of a life skill program in ten public high schools in Norway

“…CWD is one of the most tested programs during the past 30 years (Clarke, Hawkins, Murphy et al, 1993;Cuijpers, Muñoz, Clark et al, 2009;van Zoonen et al, 2014). Adaptions from CWD are ranging from treatment of depression (Lewinsohn (1970;1984), to promoting mental health in the workplace (Saelid, Czajkowski, Holte et al, 2016a;Saelid, Czajkowski, Holte et al, 2016b). Also, interventions have similarities to CWD without referring to the CWD-concept (Keles & Idsoe, 2020).…”