Therapists’ oxytocin levels tied to patient outcomes

TOPLINE:

Therapists’ oxytocin levels significantly affect the association between patients’ negative emotions and reduction in their depressive symptoms.

METHODOLOGY:

• Evidence suggests patient experiences of negative emotions predict outcomes of psychotherapy for major depressive disorder (MDD), but mechanisms remain unclear.
• Researchers used a mediation model based on the role of oxytocin (OT) in attachment relationships, such as between parent and infant.
• They collected 435 oxytocin samples pre- and post-session from therapists of 62 patients receiving psychotherapy for MDD.
• Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) was administered to patients before sessions, and patients reported their in-session emotions.

TAKEAWAY:

• Higher negative emotion levels of patients predicted higher therapist oxytocin levels on the post-session assessment, when controlling for the pre-session oxytocin (“a” path [same-session path between negative affect and OT levels]: 0.11; standard error, 0.05; P = 03; 95% confidence interval, 0.003-0.20)
• Higher therapist oxytocin levels predicted lower depression severity in the next session (“b” path [time-lagged association between post-session OT levels and depression severity]: –0.97; SE, 0.34; P = .005; 95 % CI, –1.57 to –0.22)
• An increase in therapists’ oxytocin in response to patients’ negative emotions may represent activation of the therapists’ caregiving system signaling the emergence of a healthy therapeutic interaction.

IN PRACTICE:

“The findings suggest that therapists’ oxytocin responses could potentially serve as a biomarker of an effective therapeutic process,” the researchers write.

STUDY DETAILS:

The study was conducted by Hadar Fisher, department of psychology, University of Haifa, Israel, and colleagues. It was published online in the Journal of Affective Disorders.

LIMITATIONS:

The sample size, while one of the largest in studies looking at oxytocin in psychotherapy, still has limited statistical power. The study used post-session retrospective self-reports to measure negative emotions, which focused on patients’ experiences rather than expression of these emotions.

DISCLOSURES:

The study was supported by a grant from the Israeli Science Foundation. The authors report no competing interests.

A version of this article first appeared on Medscape.com.