Home visiting program finds link between maternal depression treatment response and histories of physical, emotional abuse
At-risk mothers who participate in home visiting programs often experience high rates of depression, and a new study by the Every Child Succeeds program finds that the mothers’ own histories of underlying physical and emotional abuse must be addressed in order for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to be optimally effective.
Robert Ammerman, PhD, ABBP, and colleagues studied the long-term progress of 93 post-partum mothers, half of whom received 15 in-home visits from a licensed CBT therapist to treat depression. Before the study, mothers were screened for childhood histories of emotional or physical abuse.
Although women with histories of physical abuse responded more positively to CBT compared to those who did not receive therapy, those with the most severe histories of childhood abuse had comparatively lower CBT outcomes than those with less-severe abusive experiences.
At-risk depressed mothers with histories of emotional abuse, likewise, were able to develop stronger social networks as a result of CBT. Study findings were detailed online Nov. 13, 2014, in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.
“Exposure to high levels of trauma changes the way the brain works, how you react to stress and how you control your emotions,” says Ammerman, scientific director of ECS. “We are going to have to augment our depression treatment to address more directly any trauma experiences in order to help these women do even better in their lives.”
Colleague and co-author Judith Van Ginkel, PhD, president of ECS, says the study’s findings indicate that public health funds spent on in-home visits for at-risk mothers also need to address underlying, abuse-related trauma in order for depression treatments to be most effective.
