CBT Software for the treatment of depression in people with MS
Funding: MS Society Symptom Relief Research Initiative
Collaborators:
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust
The Walton Centre for Neurology & Neurosurgery NHS Trust
The University of Sheffield URMS Number: 112276
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier : NCT00678496
Aims
- Explore the acceptability of two CBT software packages for people with MS.
- Assess the feasibility of a clinical trial comparing CBT software with usual care.
Background
Half of all people with multiple sclerosis experience major depression during the course of their lifetime. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a talking therapy which has been shown to be effective for treatment of depression, generally and in multiple sclerosis.[1] However, access to CBT is very limited, as there are too few therapists and many patients are reluctant to enter face-to-face therapy.[2,3]
RCT evidence demonstrates that a particular computerised CBT (CCBT) software package – Beating The Blues - is more effective for the treatment of depression than standard (drug) treatment.[4,5] and is recommended for use in the NHS.[6] However CCBT has not been designed specifically for use by, or evaluated in people with multiple sclerosis and may not be appropriate or effective for use by people with physical disabilities and cognitive symptoms.
Qualitative Research
In the first phase of this study, we used semi-structured interviews with 17 participants who had both MS and depression to explore whether either computerised CBT and our trial design could be made more appropriate. A report on our findings is in preparation.
Pilot Trial
A pilot trial evaluating the effectiveness of CCBT for the treatment of depression in people with multiple sclerosis is scheduled to start in October 2008. Beating The Blues will be compared with standard care for mild or moderate depression. Twenty-four people will be consented into the study and will be randomised to usual care or CCBT. Participants in the usual care arm will be offered CCBT at the end of the study. Those in the CCBT arm will be further randomised to undertake the sessions at home or in a community facility.
Outcomes of the study
The outcomes of the study will be (1) indication of the impact of CCBT on depression in multiple sclerosis (2) a well researched protocol for a definitive RCT of the effectiveness of CCBT in treating depression in people with multiple sclerosis and (3) a computerised CBT software product developed in response to the views of people with multiple sclerosis.
The Team
The study is led by researchers from the University of Sheffield and the team includes people with personal experience of MS, a consultant neurologist and clinical psychologists.
Contact:
Principal Investigator: Cindy Cooper
Email c.l.cooper@sheffield.ac.uk
Telephone +44 (0) 114 222 0743
Study Manager: Daniel Hind
Email d.hind@sheffield.ac.uk
Telephone +44 (0) 114 222 0707
Administrator: Karen Beck
Email karen.beck@sheffield.ac.uk
Telephone +44 (0) 114 222 0795