A new Yale-led study found that administration of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) after a course of esketamine treatment can be effective in preventing relapse in patients with major depression and suicidal ideation.
Researchers at Yale worked with colleagues at Emory University and the University of Alabama-Birmingham to recruit 84 people diagnosed with major depressive disorder. Most of the patients were hospitalized when they joined the study. Some received esketamine, a prescription nasal spray used to treat depression, along with 16 weeks of CBT. Others received only esketamine.
The trial, CBT-ENDURE, found greater improvements in suicidal ideation and overall depression severity compared to esketamine without CBT. The findings were published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.
“Most clinical trials exclude patients at risk of suicide, so the fact that our research teams at Yale, Emory, and the University of Alabama-Birmingham were able to complete this trial is a testament to their effort and dedication,” says Samuel Wilkinson, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and lead author of the study. “I’m incredibly grateful to the patients and their families for their participation and hope this knowledge can help improve clinical care in the community.”
CBT is intended to improve functioning through psychotherapy that sets goals for patients to change negative thoughts and behaviors. The researchers found that, when combined with esketamine treatment, CBT is effective in preventing relapses in people with major depression and suicidal thoughts.
Other Yale affiliates who participated in the study were Mia Santucci, Kristina Kumpf, Cindy Voghell, Lauren Astorino, Valeria Martinez-Kaigi, Gerard Sanacora, and Greg Rhee.