Effectiveness of Meta-Cognitive and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

Objective: The present study aimed to compare the effectiveness of metacognitive therapy (MCT) and cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) in treating Iranian patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). Methods: Thirty three outpatients meeting DSM-IV-TR criteria for MDD without any other axis I and II disorders were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions, i.e. MCT, CBT and pharmacotherapy. The Beck Depression Inventory-II-Second Edition (BDI-II), Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) and Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS) were administered for pre-treatment, posttreatment and follow-up. Data were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Based on repeated measures ANOVA, all the participants demonstrated improvement in depression, anxiety, dysfunctional attitude and ruminative response. Based on percentage results, all the patients in MCT and CBT groups showed significant improvement at post-treatment phase. Conclusions: MCT and CBT were more effective than pharmacotherapy alone In treatment of MDD.