A recent, two-year acute phase trial published in Addictive Behaviors found both manual-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and motivation enhancement therapy (MET) to be beneficial treatments for adolescents suffering from both major depressive disorder (MDD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD). This was the first controlled study to compare CBT/MET with fluoxetine or placebo versus naturalistic care (control group), among adolescents with comorbid MDD/AUD.
Participants included 50 adolescents (ages 15-20) who met DSM-IV criteria for AUD and MDD. Qualified and trained masters level staff delivered nine sessions of manual-based CBT/MET, coupled with either fluoxetine (SSRI) or a placebo pill, to participants in the experimental condition. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D-27) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were used to assess depressive symptoms. The timeline follow-back method (TLFB), a tool used to measure controlled drinking, assessed drinking behavior.
Participants in the experimental condition who received CBT/MET demonstrated superior outcomes to the control group who did not receive any psychological intervention. Furthermore, no differences were noted between participants who received CBT/MET and fluoxetine versus CBT/MET and a placebo. These findings suggest that CBT/MET may be most efficacious for the treatment of comorbid MDD/AUD.
Cornelius, J.R., et al. (2011). Evaluation of cognitive behavioral therapy/motivational enhancement therapy (CBT/MET) in a treatment trial of comorbid MDD/AUD adolescents. Addictive Behaviors, 36(8), 843-848.