TA treatment of depression : a hermeneutic single-case
efficacy design study - ‘Deborah’

Benelli, E; Bergamaschi, M; Capoferri, C; Morena, S; Calvo, V; Mannarini, S; Palmieri, A; Zanchetta, M; Spinelli, M; Widdowson, MDJ

Abstract

This study is the third of a series of seven, and belongs
to the second Italian systematic replication of findings
from two previous series (Widdowson 2012a, 2012b,
2012c, 2013; Benelli, 2016a, 2016b, 2016c) that
investigated the effectiveness of a manualised
transactional analysis treatment for depression through
Hermeneutic Single-Case Efficacy Design (HSCED).
Major Depression and Subthreshold Depression are
often in comorbidity with Anxiety disorders in childhood
and adolescence and represent a risk factor for ongoing
mental health problems in adulthood. The therapist was
a white Italian woman with 15 years of clinical experience
and the client, Deborah, was a 15-year old white Italian
female adoloscent who attended sixteen sessions of
transactional analysis psychotherapy. The conclusion of
the judges was that this was a good-outcome case: the
depressive and anxious symptomatology clinically and
reliably improved over the course of the therapy and
these improvements were maintained throughout the
duration of the follow-up intervals. Furthermore, the client
reported significant change in her post-treatment
interview and these changes were directly attributed to
the therapy. In this case study, the transactional analysis
manualised treatment for depression in adulthood has
demonstrated its effectiveness also in treating
depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescence.

Citation

efficacy design study - ‘Deborah’. International Journal of Transactional Analysis Research, 8(1), 39-58

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 1, 2017
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2017
• Deposit Date: Mar 17, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 17, 2017
• Journal: International Journal of Transactional Analysis Research
• Print ISSN: 2218-3159
• Publisher: European Association for Transactional Analysis
• Volume: 8
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 39-58
• Publisher URL: http://www.ijtar.org/article/view/17417
• Related Public URLs: http://www.ijtar.org