Metacognitive Training for Depression (D-MCT) reduces false memories in depression. A randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Metacognitive Training for Depression (D-MCT) is a highly standardized group program targeted at depression-related ("Beckian") emotional as well as cognitive biases, including mood-congruent and false memory. While prior results are promising with respect to psychopathological outcomes (depression), it is unclear whether D-MCT also meets its goal of improving cognitive biases, such as false memories. In the framework of a randomized controlled trial (registered trial, DRKS00007907), we investigated whether D-MCT is superior to an active control condition (health training, HT) in reducing the susceptibility of depressed patients for false memories. False memories were examined using parallel versions of a visual variant of the Deese-Roediger McDermott paradigm. Both groups committed less false memories at post assessment after 4 weeks compared to baseline. Relative to HT, D-MCT led to a significant decrease in high-confident false memories over time. The study presents first evidence that D-MCT decreases the susceptibility of depressed patients for false memories, particularly for errors made with high confidence that are presumably the most "toxic" in terms of mood-congruent memory distortions.

The Relationship Between Confirmation Bias and Depression Level

“…People with confirmation bias tend to seek and select the information that confirms their previous beliefs, and ignore all the disadvantaged information that comes to them [1]. People with depression have higher level of anxiety, that cause people to have sleeping problems, and difficulties on concentration, which will lead them to seek the information that is confirming their preexisting belief [13]. However, "Figure 1" shows totally different, that people with low level of depression will have much higher level of confirmation bias, and this might because of different factors that impact people's confirmation bias.…”

“…Several studies have been shown that environmental factors, can be the factors that affect our level of depression [12]. With the depression, people will have higher anxiety and face the problem on concentration, sleeping problem, feeling guilts, or even worthlessness, and also when people have some level of depression can lead to difficulties in social, working place, and home functioning [13]. Therefore, depression has been come to taking an important role in some people's lives, and can affect also affect their living quality.…”

Long‐term efficacy of Metacognitive Training for Depression (D‐MCT): A randomized controlled trial

“…However, metacognition is a broad construct (Moritz & Lysaker, ) and different measures capture different facets of it (e.g., confidence in decisions, social reasoning, beliefs about one's thinking). In the context of D‐MCT, the Metacognition Questionnaire 30 (MCQ‐30, Wells & Cartwright‐Hatton, ) and its subscales (Jelinek, Otte, Arlt, & Hauschildt, ; Jelinek, Van Quaquebeke, & Moritz, ) as well as a visual false memory paradigm (Moritz, Schneider, Peth, Arlt, & Jelinek, ) have been used to assess change in metacognition so far. There is preliminary evidence that particularly a decrease in the MCQ subscale Need for Control (NFC) mediates outcome on depression in the D‐MCT.…”

Depressive Symptoms are Associated with More Negative Global Metacognitive Biases in Combat Veterans, and Biases Covary with Symptom Changes over Time

“…However, therapies specifically targeting metacognitive biases or sensitivity are rare. One approach, called metacognitive training, has been used in depression to successfully improve metacognitive sensitivity and bias (e.g., in false memories, [72]) as well as depressive symptoms generally [73]. In a nonclinical sample, another study training metacognitive memory ability by providing feedback to participants' predictions after each 9 Depression and Anxiety trial found both improved bias and sensitivity on that task ( [74]; see also 76]).…”