Viewing therapists and patients as equals
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Viewing therapists and patients as equals: Data-driven natural language analysis to predict outcomes in psychological therapy for depression
IRAS ID
331787
Contact name
Laura Cariola
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Edinburgh
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 10 months, 1 days
Research summary
Depression is one of the most common mental health problems and the second leading cause of disability worldwide (WHO, 2023). In Scotland, one in ten people is diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives (GOV, 2021). It is a major contributor to suicide, and more than half of those who recover from a depressive episode will experience another (Lye et al., 2020). To improve recovery rates, it is crucial to provide highly effective depression treatment.
Previous research using Natural Language Processing (NLP) has examined the language associated with depression severity and outcomes in psychological treatment. However, these studies have not considered the therapeutic relationship as the key factor influencing improvement of depression.
Recognising the significance of the therapeutic relationship in depression treatment, the objective of this innovative research is to integrate data science and clinical psychology to develop a computational language model that predicts symptom improvement based on the language use in patient-therapist conversations during routine face-to-face therapy for depression.
This research will provide novel insights on the mechanism of language as a vehicle in the patient-therapists conversation to reduce symptoms. The findings of this project will provide valuable information to improve outcomes, engagement, and effectiveness of depression treatment.
If participants (i.e., patients and their therapists) consent to the study, patient-therapist therapy sessions for depression would be digitally recorded in the NHS Lanarkshire setting. Self-report questionnaires will be collected at the beginning, mid and end of the therapy, and at three-month follow up. Participants would be in the study for no longer 35 weeks.
REC name
North East - Tyne & Wear South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/NE/0234
Date of REC Opinion
15 Dec 2023
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion