Objective Psychological problems associated with isolation and mistrust are common among young adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Schema therapy (ST) has recently been shown to be effective against chronic personality problems of various mental disorders, including personality disorders. This pilot clinical trial aimed to explore the feasibility and acceptability of ST in young adults with high-functioning ASD. Results Following the intervention, a significant reduction in early maladaptive schemas and improvements in quality of life and social adjustment were observed. ST may be feasible and is applicable to young adults with HF-ASD. Trial registration UMIN000014535; registered on July 11, 2014

ObjectiveMental defeat and cognitive flexibility have been studied as explanatory factors for depression and posttraumatic stress disorder. This study examined mental defeat and cognitive flexibility scores in patients with panic disorder (PD) before and after cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and compared them to those of a gender- and age-matched healthy control group.ResultsPatients with PD (n = 15) received 16 weekly individual CBT sessions, and the control group (n = 35) received no treatment. Patients completed the Mental Defeat Scale and the Cognitive Flexibility Scale before the intervention, following eight CBT sessions, and following 16 CBT sessions, while the control group did so only prior to receiving CBT (baseline). The patients’ pre-CBT Mental Defeat and Cognitive Flexibility Scale scores were significantly higher on the Mental Defeat Scale and lower on the Cognitive Flexibility Scale than those of the control group participants were. In addition, the average Mental Defeat Scale scores of the patients decreased significantly, from 22.2 to 12.4, while their average Cognitive Flexibility Scale scores increased significantly, from 42.8 to 49.5. These results suggest that CBT can reduce mental defeat and increase cognitive flexibility in patients with PDTrial registration The study was registered retrospectively in the national UMIN Clinical Trials Registry on June 10, 2016 (registration ID: UMIN000022693).Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3130-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

BackgroundMental imagery has a more powerful impact on our emotions than thinking in words about the same material. Treating intrusive images with imagery rescripting (IR) has been reported for various disorders, including post‐traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, and bipolar disorder. There has been less research about IR as a major depressive disorder (MDD).AimsWe examined whether IR without focusing on early traumatic memories is effective in MDD.MethodsWe enrolled 19 participants with MDD, who received 15 weekly sessions of full CBT, including two sessions for IR of intrusive images and, separately, for memory rescripting. Before and after the IR intervention, participants were asked to rate the intrusive images they experienced against, an intrusion index that included difficulty (interference with daily life), uncontrollability, distress caused by the negative image, and vividness. We recorded the contents of each participant's negative and positive imagery to classify these.ResultsThe intrusion index scores decreased after the IR sessions. Negative images experienced by the participants while in a depressive mood were categorized into three different types: blame, social exclusion, and loneliness. The rescripted positive images were categorized into good relations and worthy self (competent self).ConclusionsThese results suggest that IR of intrusive images without focusing on early traumatic memories may usefully be incorporated into routine CBT sessions for MDD.

ObjectiveMental defeat affects the occurrence and chronicity of depression and cognitive flexibility. This study aimed to examine changes in mental defeat and cognitive flexibility scores after cognitive behavioral therapy including IR. In the intervention group, patients with depression (n = 18, mean age = 37.89 years) received 15 cognitive behavioral therapy sessions. Patients completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II; Mental Defeat Scale; Cognitive Flexibility Scale; EuroQol five dimensions questionnaire; Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale before the intervention, after six sessions, and post-intervention. The healthy control group (n = 33, mean age = 37.91) completed all scales once and did not receive treatment.ResultsPost-cognitive behavioral therapy, a significant decrease was observed in Beck Depression Inventory-II, Mental Defeat Scale, Cognitive Flexibility Scale, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scores. Although mental defeat and cognitive flexibility did not reach the level of the healthy control group, they demonstrated improvement. Therefore, when treating depression, mental defeat and cognitive flexibility should be measured in addition to depressive symptoms.Trial registration This study was registered retrospectively in the national UMIN Clinical Trials Registry on July 25, 2016 (registration ID: UMIN000023320)

Imagery rescripting (ImRs) is a psychological intervention designed to change the meaning of images and associated memories and reduce emotional distress. Recent studies have shown that ImRs can be successfully applied to many psychological problems and disorders; however, little has been reported on the application of ImRs for panic disorder (PD). Consequently, we explored the therapeutic effects of ImRs on patients with PD. Fifteen patients with PD received 16 individual cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) sessions weekly, including one ImRs session. Early traumatic memories associated with recurrent images in panic situations were identified and rescripted to alleviate maladaptive encapsulated beliefs. ImRs ratings (vividness and distress of the images and memories and conviction degree of encapsulated beliefs) were measured prior to and after ImRs. Self-negative contents not directly related to symptoms of panic attack were observed as common themes in the worst meaning of the image, the memory, and in the encapsulated belief. Whilst five (33%) patients had anticipatory anxiety, 10 (67%) patients had other self-negative beliefs. ImRs significantly reduced distress from images, memories and encapsulated beliefs; however, it did not change the vividness of images and memories. There was no significant correlation between the reduction in PD severity over the CBT program and the change in each ImRs rating. The results of this study are promising for certain aspects of panic disorder. However, further research is needed to overcome the limitations of this study.