Emotion-Focused Therapy for Couples in the Treatment of Depression: A Pilot Study

Emotion-focused therapy (EFT) for couples was compared to pharmacotherapy in the treatment of major depressive disorder. Eighteen distressed couples in which the female partner met diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder were randomly assigned to 16 weekly sessions of emotion-focused therapy or pharmacotherapy with desipramine, trimipramine, or trazadone. Twelve couples completed the study. Both interventions were equally effective in symptom reduction. There was some evidence that females receiving EFT made greater improvement after the conclusion of treatment than those receiving pharmacotherapy. The results suggest EFT might be useful in the treatment of comorbid major depressive disorder and relational distress.