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A Case Series of Individual Six-Week Cognitive Behavioral Therapy With Individually Tailored Manual-Based Treatment Delivery for Depressed College Students With or Without Suicidal Ideation

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Abstract

Despite their prevalence, depression and suicidal ideation (SI) are relatively unaddressed problems in the college student population. There are limited individual treatment studies targeting this population. Nine students (M = 19.33 years of age; SD ± .87) with depressive symptoms and/or SI were enrolled in 6-weeks of individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with a individually tailored manual-based treatment delivery. Measures were given before and after treatment. Primary results, presented as a case series, suggested decreases in depression across students and an overall downward trend in SI. As a secondary analysis, paired samples t tests showed significant decreases in both depression and SI. In summary, short-term, individually tailored manual-based CBT may be beneficial for reducing depressive symptoms and SI among college students. More research is needed to determine the best clinical interventions and targeted treatments for this vulnerable population.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Depression Clinical and Research Program (DCRP), Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, One Bowdoin Square, 6th Floor, Boston, MA, 02114, USA

    Maren B. Nyer, Clair Cassiello-Robbins, Samuel R. Petrie, Daphne J. Holt, Lauren B. Fisher, Adrienne Jaeger, Paola Pedrelli, Lee Baer & Amy Farabaugh

  2. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Matthew K. Nock

Authors
  1. Maren B. Nyer
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  2. Clair Cassiello-Robbins
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  3. Matthew K. Nock
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  4. Samuel R. Petrie
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  5. Daphne J. Holt
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  6. Lauren B. Fisher
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  7. Adrienne Jaeger
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  8. Paola Pedrelli
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  9. Lee Baer
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  10. Amy Farabaugh
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Correspondence to Maren B. Nyer.

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Nyer, M.B., Cassiello-Robbins, C., Nock, M.K. et al. A Case Series of Individual Six-Week Cognitive Behavioral Therapy With Individually Tailored Manual-Based Treatment Delivery for Depressed College Students With or Without Suicidal Ideation. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 33, 134–147 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-015-0206-y

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