Does cognitive behavioral therapy alter mental defeat and cognitive flexibility in patients with panic disorder?

Abstract

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.

Role of psychotherapy on antenatal depression, anxiety, and maternal quality of life

“…[ 86 ] Cooper et al [ 87 ] for instance, reported that the use of antidepressants such as selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors during the antenatal stage of pregnancy could predispose towards poorer maternal health, quality of life and promote developmental fetal defects. [ 88 ] Furthermore, the use of psychotherapeutic interventions has been preferred because of their ability to promote a challenging environment within which the pregnant women gain cognitive flexibility, [ 39 ] and intrinsic-extrinsic motivation. [ 89 ] Besides, the preference of psychotherapy has also been driven due to the intervention's ability to provide retainable effects.…”

“…Likewise, studies also report that psychotherapy can promote the robustness of self-monitoring and attentional allocation cognitive resources, which might further allow a depressed and anxious woman to actively adapt according to a situation. [ 90 , 91 ] Nagata et al [ 39 ] mentioned that cognitive behavioral therapy can effectively combat situations where the loss of emotional automation is prevalent. Here, psychotherapy mediated enhancements in cognitive resources can allow a patient to replace their negative thoughts into objective prospects, thereby, providing a breakthrough from the vicious depression-anxiety cycle.…”

“…[ 33 , 37 , 38 ] Several underlying mechanisms have been reported to support the favorability of this approach. For instance, studies have demonstrated that psychotherapeutic interventions can enhance cognitive flexibility, [ 39 ] maternal motivation, [ 40 ] allow self-regulation of thoughts, [ 41 ] and restructuring of negative emotions. [ 42 ] A meta-analysis by Farrand and Woodford [ 43 ] confirmed that interventions by psychotherapeutic techniques can not only benefit the mental health status but also provide enhancements in physical health status and quality of life.…”

Cognitive behavioral therapy for postpartum panic disorder: a case series

“…If the patient converts the visual image into a linguistic format (i.e., through speaking or writing it), it disappears more quickly [33]. Based on the negative emotions arising from critically exaggerated interpretations of physical sensations, patients with PD overestimate the true threat and create catastrophic images [34]. In Session 5, in order to establish an identification of images, the patients first, with their eyes closed), were asked to express the most catastrophic image that, for them, can cause a panic attack involving symptoms such as palpitations and hyperventilation (e.g., dying on the street because an ambulance does not arrive).…”

Therapeutic Mechanism(s) of the Benefit-Finding Intervention for Dementia Caregivers: A Reply to Cantó

“…The reappraisal exercises used in the intervention were basically set switching tasks. 4 Emerging research is suggesting that cognitive flexibility, which may be improved with cognitive-behavioral therapy, 6 is associated with less rumination and cognitive reappraisal ability. 7,8 While set switching is involved in positive reappraisal and finding positive gains, it probably cultivates in caregivers a sense of control over negative thoughts as well.…”