Journey through time - Imagery rescripting of distressing memories
Organizational Data
- DRKS-ID:
- DRKS00031495
- Recruitment Status:
- Recruiting ongoing
- Date of registration in DRKS:
- 2023-04-05
- Last update in DRKS:
- 2024-05-08
- Registration type:
- Prospective
Acronym/abbreviation of the study
Journey through time
URL of the study
No Entry
Brief summary in lay language
In the present study, imaginative techniques are carried out on patients with depression in four study sessions. The study therapy will take place in addition to the regular cognitive behavioral therapy of the patients. A total of 60 patients will be included in the study. The patients are randomly assigned two conditions: In one condition (ImRs, experimental condition), stressful childhood memories are positively changed with the help of trained study therapists using the technique of imagery rescripting in such a way that the emotional quality of the respective situation changes in a direction that is comfortable for the patient. In the other condition (guided imagery, control condition), the patients get an imaginative relaxation exercise guided by the study therapists.
Brief summary in scientific language
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for depression involves verbal restructuring of negative thoughts and/or behavioural activation (Beck, 1991). These therapeutic techniques target dysfunctions in the underlying Cognitive and Behavioural aspects of depression. The fact that many patients with depression do not improve in treatment (Cuijpers et al., 2021) suggests that current treatments do not sufficiently target key-clinical features of depression. Recent innovations in psychotherapy research have stressed the importance of eliciting and transforming emotions in addition to cognitions and behavior (Greenberg, 2004, 2010). Experimental research has shown that mental imagery processing has a greater impact on emotion than verbal processing (Holmes, Deeprose, Geddes, & Goodwin, 2009; Holmes, Geddes, Colom, & Goodwin, 2008). Thus, one way to target emotional processing in depression might be via mental imagery. Imagery Rescripting (ImRs) is a therapeutic technique that targets distressing memories by imagining the distressing memory as vividly as possible in a first step and by imaging the sequence of events in a more desirable direction fulfilling emotional needs in a second step (Arntz, 2020; Arntz & Weertman, 1999). The aim of this procedure is to take the edge of the emotional impact of the memory by changing the (emotional) meaning of the memory representation. As the majority of depressed patients report to experience distressing memories and as depression is linked to adverse childhood experiences, the aim of this study is to investigate whether ImRs has an effect on depressive symptom severity during standard CBT for depression. In a randomized-controlled trial, 60 patients with a depressive disorder will be assigned to one of two conditions: 1. ImRs (Imagery Rescripting - experimental condition) or 2. Guided Imagery (control condition). After a baseline measurement, three intervention sessions will take place. The sessions will take place at the Institute of Psychology - Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg. The sessions will be followed by follow-up measurements (online) at intervals of one and four weeks and 2 months after the last session.
Health condition or problem studied
- ICD10:
- F32 - Depressive episode
- ICD10:
- F33 - Recurrent depressive disorder
- ICD10:
- F34.1 - Dysthymia
- Healthy volunteers:
- No
Interventions, Observational Groups
- Arm 1:
- Imagery rescripting of distressing memories
- Arm 2:
- Guided imagery relaxation
Endpoints
- Primary outcome:
- Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II; Beck, Steer & Brown, 1996) before randomization (baseline), one week after the last session (post-treatment) and at 4 weeks and 2 month after the last session (follow-up).
- Secondary outcome:
- 1. Depressive symptom severity, measured by PHQ-9, at every measurement: Before randomization (baseline), just prior to every session, one week after the last study therapy (post-treatment) and 4 weeks and 2 months after the last session (follow-up) 2. Repetitive negative thinking measured by the Perserverative Thinking Questionnaire (PTQ; Ehring et al., 2011): Before randomization (baseline), one week after the last study therapy (post-treatment) and 4 weeks and 2 months after the last session (follow-up) 3. Scores on the German questionnaire SEK-27 (Self-Assessment of Emotional cababilities) before randomization (baseline), one week after the last session (post-treatment) and 4 weeks and 2 months after the last session (follow-up) 4. Scores on the short version of the German version of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-SV; Hupfeld & Ruffieux, 2011), measured before randomization (baseline), one week after the last study session (post-treatment), and 4 weeks and 2 months after the last session (follow-up). 5. Scores on the German global self-efficacy expectancy scale (SWE; Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 2003) measured before randomization (baseline), one week after the last session (post-treatment), and 4 weeks and 2 months after the last session ( Follow-up) 6. Scores on the German version of the Emotion Beliefs Questionnaire (EBQ; Grüning et al., 2021), measured before randomization (baseline), one week after the last study therapy (post-treatment), and 4 weeks and 2 months after the last session (follow-up) 7. Scores on the German version of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scala (RSES; Collani & Herzberg, 2003), measured before randomization (baseline), one week after the last study therapy (post-treatment), and 4 weeks and 2 months after the last session (follow-up) 8. Scores on the German patient satisfaction questionnaire adapted for the study (ZUF-8; Schmidt et al., 1989), measured one week after the last study therapy session (post-treatment) 9. Core Beliefs about the self, other people and the world, captured by an interview in baseline session, rating (0-100) of the belief that the core belief is true; measured before randomization (baseline), just before each of the three therapy sessions, one week after the last session (post-treatment), and 4 weeks and 2 months after the last session (follow-up) 10. Rating of emotions associated with memories assessed in the baseline session in terms of strength and vividness (0-100), measured before randomization (baseline), just prior to each of the three sessions, one week after the last study therapy session (post-treatment ), and 4 weeks and 2 months after the last session (follow-up)
Study Design
- Purpose:
- Treatment
- Allocation:
- Randomized controlled study
- Control:
-
- Active control (effective treatment of control group)
- Phase:
- IV
- Study type:
- Interventional
- Mechanism of allocation concealment:
- No Entry
- Blinding:
- Yes
- Assignment:
- Parallel
- Sequence generation:
- No Entry
- Who is blinded:
-
- Patient/subject
Recruitment
- Recruitment Status:
- Recruiting ongoing
- Reason if recruiting stopped or withdrawn:
- No Entry
Recruitment Locations
- Recruitment countries:
-
- Germany
- Number of study centers:
- Monocenter study
- Recruitment location(s):
-
- Doctor's practice Institut für Psychologie, Freiburg
Recruitment period and number of participants
- Planned study start date:
- 2023-04-10
- Actual study start date:
- 2023-04-27
- Planned study completion date:
- 2025-03-31
- Actual Study Completion Date:
- No Entry
- Target Sample Size:
- 60
- Final Sample Size:
- No Entry
Inclusion Criteria
- Sex:
- All
- Minimum Age:
- 18 Years
- Maximum Age:
- no maximum age
- Additional Inclusion Criteria:
- Diagnosis of major depressive disorder or persistend depressive disorder to DSM-V, sufficient proficiency of German language to complete questionnaires
Exclusion Criteria
high risk of suicidality
Addresses
Primary Sponsor
- Address:
- Institut für Psychologie - Abteilung für klinische Psychologie und PsychotherapieFritz RennerEngelbergerstraße 4179106 FreiburgGermany
- Telephone:
- No Entry
- Fax:
- No Entry
- Contact per E-Mail:
- Contact per E-Mail
- URL:
- No Entry
- Investigator Sponsored/Initiated Trial (IST/IIT):
- Yes
Contact for Scientific Queries
- Address:
- Institut für Psychologie - Abteilung für Psychologie und PsychotherapieFritz RennerEngelbergerstraße 4179106 FreiburgGermany
- Telephone:
- 00497612033047
- Fax:
- No Entry
- Contact per E-Mail:
- Contact per E-Mail
- URL:
- No Entry
Contact for Public Queries
- Address:
- Institut für Psychologie - Abteilung für Psychologie und PsychotherapieFritz RennerEngelbergerstraße 4179106 FreiburgGermany
- Telephone:
- 00497612033047
- Fax:
- No Entry
- Contact per E-Mail:
- Contact per E-Mail
- URL:
- No Entry
Principal Investigator
- Address:
- Institut für Psychologie - Abteilung für Psychologie und PsychotherapieFritz RennerEngelbergerstraße 4179106 FreiburgGermany
- Telephone:
- 00497612033047
- Fax:
- No Entry
- Contact per E-Mail:
- Contact per E-Mail
- URL:
- No Entry
Sources of Monetary or Material Support
Private sponsorship (foundations, study societies, etc.)
- Address:
- Alexander von Humboldt-Stiftung (Sofja Kovalevskaja Preis)53173 BonnGermany
- Telephone:
- No Entry
- Fax:
- No Entry
- Contact per E-Mail:
- Contact per E-Mail
- URL:
- No Entry
Ethics Committee
Address Ethics Committee
- Address:
- Ethik-Kommission der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität FreiburgEngelberger Str. 2179106 FreiburgGermany
- Telephone:
- +49-761-27072600
- Fax:
- No Entry
- Contact per E-Mail:
- Contact per E-Mail
- URL:
- http://www.uniklinik-freiburg.de/ethikkommission.html
Vote of leading Ethics Committee
- Vote of leading Ethics Committee
- Date of ethics committee application:
- 2022-12-17
- Ethics committee number:
- 22-1518-S2
- Vote of the Ethics Committee:
- Approved
- Date of the vote:
- 2023-02-27
Further identification numbers
- Other primary registry ID:
- No Entry
- EudraCT Number:
- No Entry
IPD - Individual Participant Data
- Do you plan to make participant-related data (IPD) available to other researchers in an anonymized form?:
- Yes
- IPD Sharing Plan:
- Available data: Individual participant data; Data shared: Individual participant data that underlie the results reported in the article, after deidentification (text, tables, figures, appendices), other documents available: study protocol, when will data be available (start and end dates): Immediately following article publication, no end date; with whom: anyone who wishes to access the data; for what types of analyses: any purpose.
Study protocol and other study documents
- Study protocols:
- No Entry
- Study abstract:
- No Entry
- Other study documents:
- No Entry
- Background literature:
- No Entry
- Related DRKS studies:
- No Entry
Publication of study results
- Planned publication:
- No Entry
- Publikationen/Studienergebnisse:
- No Entry
- Date of first publication of study results:
- No Entry
- DRKS entry published for the first time with results:
- No Entry
Basic reporting
- Basic Reporting / Results tables:
- No Entry
- Brief summary of results:
- No Entry