MDD
Conditions
Interventions
PCT may prolong the effect of rTMS leading to a quick and long term effective 
treatment method for chronically ill patients with high health care costs. 
Combining these two forms of evidence based treatment for MDD may lead to lower 
relapse rates and costs reduction. In this trial, half of the randomized 
patients will receive PCT online via video call and half will receive PCT F2F 
to study the feasibility of the add-on treatment for patients receiving rTMS. 
All patients who receive rTMS treatment are psychotherapeutically treated 
during rTMS treatment period as stated in the depression guideline. After 
informed consent, patients are included in the current pilot study when 
responding to rTMS and reaching at least 25-50% reduction of symptoms or remission 
(scores 14-22 for partial responders and <
14 for responders) on the IDS self-report scale (Inventory of Depressive 
Symptoms). Patients not responding will continue to receive regular 
psychotherapy and will not be included in the current pilot study. PCT consists 
of 8 weekly sessions of individual psychotherapy according to the protocol and 
will be performed by a qualified Health care psychologist. PCT sessions via 
videocall proved to be feasible in a former study by Brouwer et al. (2020) and 
our study population may be supraregional due to the fact that rTMS treatment 
is not widely offered in patient care. A short-form questionnaire (experience 
sampling methodology) will be used to monitor daily positive and negative 
Sponsors
Amsterdam UMC
Eligibility
Age
18 Years to 99 Years
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: In order to be eligible to participate in this study, a subject must meet all of the following criteria: • Patients are (partially) responding or in remission directly after rTMS • Have a IDS-SR scale between 14-22 for partial responders or <14 for responders or at least 25-50% reduction of complaints for partial responders or at least 50% reduction of complaints for responders • Are aged 18 years or older • Speak Dutch
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: Not applicable.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Treatment adherence (number of sessions, number of weeks in which treatment is given, outcome rating scale of each PCT session, adherence to homework assignments and possible relapse/duration of remission, personal preference for treatment method for each patient) will be used as primary descriptive outcome measures and gathered using registration of therapists and EPIC. Number of weeks of remission will be monitored using the IDS-SR (Rush et al. 1996) and Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) (Hamilton, M. 1980). Both questionnaires are used for registering depressive symptoms and response rates in rTMS (treatment as usual) and will be administered directly after completing PCT, after 3 months and after 6 months post baseline. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The secondary outcome parameter of the study is affect fluctuations as measured with daily short-form questionnaires during PCT treatment. Patients fill in their affective state and the mean affect score that is derived from the questionnaires will be used as secondary outcome measures. | — |
Countries
Netherlands
Contacts
Public ContactL Aben
Amsterdam UMC
Outcome results
None listed