A meta-analysis and systematic review of Memory Specificity Training (MeST) in the treatment of emotional disorders

Abstract

The tendency to recall events from one's past in a non-specific and overgeneral way has been found to predict the onset and severity of a range of emotional disorders. Memory Specificity Training (MeST) was devised a decade ago in order to target and modify this tendency so as to reduce the symptoms of emotional disorder or to reduce the risk that such disorders might emerge over time. We present a meta-analytical review of research into the effects of MeST on autobiographical memory specificity in the context of emotional disorders (k = 12). MeST was associated with substantial improvement in memory specificity (d = -1.21) and depressive symptoms (d = 0.47) and MeST groups outperformed control groups at postintervention in terms of specificity (d = 1.08) and depressive symptoms (d = -.29). However, these effects were transitory and the benefit of MeST over control groups was mostly lost by follow-up assessment. There was mixed evidence in terms of MeST's effects on other processes associated with reduced specificity but MeST showed most promise in improving problem solving abilities and hopelessness. MeST holds promise as a novel intervention targeting reduced specificity but future studies are warranted with control groups that enable the investigation of MeST's mechanism of action and in studies with larger and more varied samples.

Remediating reduced memory specificity in bipolar disorder: A case study using a Computerized Memory Specificity Training

“…This case study was the first to examine the potential benefits of remediating rAMS in BD with memory specificity training. rAMS is a transdiagnostic clinically relevant phenomenon, and accumulating evidence has shown the potential of remediating rAMS in other clinical disorders with concomitant effects of disorder symptoms and associated processes (Barry et al, ).…”

“…The higher specificity scores for emotional cue words versus neutral cues were explained by the participant as due to the difficulty they had in recalling any memories related to the neutral cue words, which they reported as feeling “flat.” Future research can be aimed at finding trends in people with BD, such as the role of valence and/or emotionality of cue words at assessment and during training. For a recent discussion on how cue words of different valences generate different results, see the meta‐analysis and systematic review of MeST by Barry et al (). Alternatively, the c‐MeST software makes it possible to offer more cue words of a certain valence depending on personal scores.…”

“…Evidence such as this, and evidence of other autobiographical memory problems among people with psychological problems, has resulted in the emergence of the field of memory therapeutics, as illustrated by recent reviews of such interventions in mood, anxiety, and stress‐related disorders (Barry et al, ; Hitchcock, Werner‐Seidler, Blackwell, & Dalgleish, ). The authors of these reviews reported that no studies have yet examined the impact of a memory‐therapeutic intervention among people with BD.…”

“…One intervention, Memory Specificity Training (MeST) (Raes, Williams, et al, ), is regarded as a promising method for improving memory specificity and remediating related symptoms and processes in UD (Eigenhuis, Seldenrijk, Schaik, Raes, & Oppen, ; Raes, Williams, et al, ; Werner‐Seidler et al, ), PTSD (Maxwell et al, ), and Schizophrenia (Blairy et al, ; Ricarte, Hernández‐Viadel, Latorre, & Ros, ). A recent meta‐analysis confirms these effects (Barry et al, ) and concluded that MeST has also been found to improve other processes associated with rAMS, such as deficits in problem solving, future‐oriented thinking, and hopelessness. The group training protocol of MeST was translated to a computerized application that can be offered individually: computerized MeST or “c‐MeST” (Takano, Moriya, et al, ).…”

“…Several cognitive vulnerabilities have been found in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD), including reduced autobiographical memory specificity (rAMS) (Scott, Stanton, Garland, & Ferrier, 2000). Despite the potential importance of rAMS within BD, and the existence of interventions that target rAMS (Barry, Sze, & Raes, 2019), no study has yet examined whether these interventions are effective at improving rAMS among people with BD, or whether doing so can be beneficial. In this experimental case study, we explored the modifiability of rAMS for a participant diagnosed with rapid cycling type I bipolar disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013) with a computerized version of Memory Specificity Training (MeST) (Raes, Williams, & Hermans, 2009), called c-MeST (Takano, Moriya, & Raes, 2017).…”