Rumination-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy for residual depression: phase II randomised controlled trial.

Background: About 20% of major depressive episodes become chronic and medication-refractory and also appear to be less responsive to standard cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT).

Aims: To test whether CBT developed from behavioural activation principles that explicitly and exclusively targets depressive rumination enhances treatment as usual (TAU) in reducing residual depression.

Method: Forty-two consecutively recruited participants meeting criteria for medication-refractory residual depression were randomly allocated to TAU v.

Rumination-focused cognitive behaviour therapy for residual depression: a case series.

The treatment of chronic and recurrent depression is a priority for the development of new interventions. The maintenance of residual symptoms following acute treatment for depression is a risk factor for both chronic depression and further relapse/recurrence. This open case series provides the first data on a cognitive-behavioural treatment for residual depression that explicitly targets depressive rumination.