Therapeutic lifestyle change: Piloting a novel group-based intervention for depression

Abstract

A novel treatment protocol for depression has been developed based on an evolutionarily informed conceptual framework (Ilardi, Karwoski, & Lehman, 2006) that regards the recent epidemic of depression in developed nations as arising in part from the loss of antidepressant elements present in the ancestral human environment—a set of features ranging from regular aerobic activity to ample dietary fatty acids to robust social support networks. Accordingly, this 12-session group protocol, Therapeutic Lifestyle Change (TLC), emphasizes a set of six distinct, modifiable lifestyle elements, each of which has been shown independently to have antidepressant efficacy or prophylactic value. In the present investigation, TLC was administered to a group of 30 depressed individuals in order to establish the treatment's feasibility, and to compare symptom reduction among the participants with that of a control group (n=12) randomly assigned to receive treatment as usual in the community. Among treatment completers, 86% of patients receiving TLC achieved treatment response, as defined by a 50% or greater reduction in BDI scores, compared with 33% of the patients in the waitlist control group. Although preliminary, these data suggest that TLC may be an efficacious intervention for major depressive disorder.