David O. Antonuccio

Acceptance-Based Treatment for Smoking Cessation

This pilot study applied a theoretically derived model of acceptance-based treatment process to smoking cessation, and compared it to a pharmacological treatment based on a medical dependence model. Seventy-six nicotine-dependent smokers were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: Nicotine Replacement Treatment (NRT), or a smoking-focused version of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). There were no differences between conditions at posttreatment; however, participants in the ACT condition had better long-term smoking outcomes at 1-year follow-up. As predicted by the acceptance process model, ACT outcomes at 1 year were mediated by improvements in acceptance-related skills. Withdrawal symptoms and negative affect neither differed between conditions nor predicted outcomes. Results were consistent with the functional acceptance-based treatment model.

Raising Questions about Antidepressants

Antidepressant medication has apparently become the most popular treatment for depression in the USA. Several beliefs about the efficacy of antidepressant medications prevail among mental health professionals and the public. This paper explores relevant research data and raises questions about these beliefs. Many of the common beliefs about these medications are not adequately supported by scientific data. The following issues are raised: (1) industry-funded research studies which result in negative findings sometimes do not get published; (2) placebo washout procedures may bias results in some studies; (3) there are serious questions about the integrity of the double-blind procedure; (4) the ‘true’ antidepressant drug effect in adults appears to be relatively small; (5) there is minimal evidence of antidepressant efficacy in children; (6) side effects are fairly common even with the newer antidepressants; (7) combining medications raises the risk for more serious complications; (8) all antidepressants can cause withdrawal symptoms; (9) genetic influences on unipolar depression appear to be weaker than environmental influences; (10) biochemical theories of depression are as yet unproven; (11) biological markers specific for depression have been elusive; (12) dosage and plasma levels of antidepressants have been minimally related to treatment outcome; (13) preliminary evidence suggests that patients who improve with cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy show similar biological changes as those who respond to medication, and (14) the evidence suggests that psychological interventions are at least as effective as pharmacotherapy in treating depression, even if severe, especially when patient-rated measures are used and long-term follow-up is considered.

A cost-effectiveness analysis of cognitive behavior therapy and fluoxetine (prozac) in the treatment of depression *

Depression affects at least 11 million Americans per year and costs the U.S. economy an estimated 44 billion dollars annually. Comprehensive review of the existing scientific evidence suggests that psychotherapy, particularly cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), is at least as effective as medication in the treatment of depression, even if severe (Antonuccio, Danton, & DeNelsky, 1995). These conclusions hold for both vegetative and social adjustment symptoms, especially when patient-rated measures are used and long-term follow-up is considered. In addition, several well-controlled studies with long-term follow-up (Evans et al., 1992; Shea et al., 1992; Simons, Murphy, Levine, & Wetzel, 1986) suggest that CBT may be more effective than drug treatment at preventing relapse. The relative effectiveness of psychotherapy for depression, particularly CBT, has been reinforced by meta-analyses reported in both psychiatry (Hollon, Shelton, & Loosen, 1991; Wexler & Cicchetti, 1992) and psychology journals (Dobson, 1989; Robinson, Berman, & Neimeyer, 1990; Steinbrueck, Maxwell, & Howard, 1983). In the era of managed care, it is not enough to be effective; treatments must be cost-effective. This paper considers the outcome studies as the basis for a cost-effectiveness comparison of drugs and psychotherapy in the treatment of unipolar depression. The analysis shows that over a 2-year period, fluoxetine alone may result in 33% higher expected costs than individual CBT treatment and the combination treatment may result in 23% higher costs than CBT alone. Supplemental analysis shows that group CBT may only result in a 2% (

Does Acceptance and Relationship Focused Behavior Therapy Contribute to Bupropion Outcomes? A Randomized Controlled Trial of Functional Analytic Psychotherapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Smoking Cessation☆

596) cost savings as compared to individual treatment.

Bibliotherapy as a Treatment for Depression in Primary Care

This study evaluated a treatment combining bupropion with a novel acceptance and relationship focused behavioral intervention based on the acceptance and relationship context (ARC) model. Three hundred and three smokers from a community sample were randomly assigned to bupropion, a widely used smoking cessation medication, or bupropion plus functional analytic psychotherapy (FAP) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Objective measures of smoking outcomes and self-report measures of acceptance and relationship processes were taken at pretreatment, posttreatment, 6-month, and 1-year follow-up. The combined treatment was significantly better than bupropion alone at 1-year follow-up with 7-day point prevalence quit rates of 31.6% in the combined condition versus 17.5% in the medication-alone condition. Acceptance and the therapeutic relationship at posttreatment statistically mediated 12-month outcomes. Bupropion outcomes were enhanced with an acceptance and relationship focused behavioral treatment.

Corporate funding and conflicts of interest: a primer for psychologists.

This study was designed to determine whether a physician-delivered bibliotherapy prescription would compare favorably with the prevailing usual care treatment for depression in primary care (that often involves medication) and potentially offer an alternative. Six family physicians were trained to write and deliver prescriptions for cognitive-behavioral bibliotherapy. Thirty-eight patients were randomly assigned to receive either usual care or a behavioral prescription to read the self-help book, Feeling Good (Burns, D. D. (1999). Feeling good: The new mood therapy. New York: HarperCollins). The treatment groups did not differ in terms of overall outcome variables. Patients in both treatment groups reported statistically significant decreases in depression symptoms, decreases in dysfunctional attitudes, and increases in quality of life. Although not statistically significant, the mean net medical expenses in the behavioral prescription group were substantially less. This study provided empirical evidence that a behavioral prescription for Feeling Good may be as effective as standard care, which commonly involves an antidepressant prescription.

Transdermal nicotine : The long and the short of it

A presidential task force on external funding was established by the American Psychological Association (APA) in 2003 to review APA policies, procedures, and practices regarding the acceptance of funding and support from private corporations for educational and training programs; continuing education offerings; research projects; publications; advertising; scientific and professional meetings and conferences; and consulting, practice, and advocacy relationships. This article, based on the Executive Summary of the APA Task Force on External Funding Final Report, presents the findings and unanimous recommendations of the task force in the areas of association income, annual convention, research and journals, continuing education, education, practice, and conflicts of interest and ethics. The task force concluded that it is important for both APA and individual psychologists to become familiar with the challenges that corporate funding can pose to their integrity. The nature and extent of those challenges led the task force to recommend that APA develop explicit policies, educational materials, and continuing education programs to preserve the independence of psychological science, practice, and education.

A Pilot Study Investigating Behavioral Prescriptions for Depression

Cigarette smokers with a mean history of 35 smoking years (N = 98) were randomly assigned to receive either 3 weeks or 12 weeks of transdermal nicotine treatment combined with a 5-session behavioral management program. Participants were followed for 20 weeks. At the conclusion of the study, 26% of the 3-week participants and 29% of the 12-week participants were abstinent. The number of abstinent participants and duration of abstinence were not significantly different between the 2 groups, although statistical power constraints do not rule out the possibility of small undetected differences in outcome. Most participants (68%) smoked at least once during their nicotine patch regimen. Smoking on the patch was associated with poor outcome. Those who smoked while using the patch reported more restlessness and cigarette cravings and lower confidence and intention to quit smoking than did participants who did not smoke during the drug regimen.

Penetrating the blind in a study of an SSRI

Depression is a prevalent and expensive condition. Many patients are seeking and receiving treatment for depression in the primary care setting where pharmaceutical interventions prevail as the predominant treatment. While psychotropic medications can certainly help ameliorate mental and behavioral problems, all medical interventions carry with them certain risks and side effects. A natural multiple-baseline (across participants), single-case experimental design was used in a pilot study to evaluate the feasibility of “behavioral prescriptions” for cognitive-behavioral bibliotherapy with five depressed patients in a primary care setting. Results indicated that final depression self-report scores were lower than baseline and pre-treatment reports for every participant. At three month follow-up, three out of five participants reported no symptoms of depression, one participant reported minimal symptoms of depression, and one participant reported mild symptoms of depression. Behavioral prescriptions for cognitive bibliotherapy warrant further controlled research and may offer a cost-effective and practical treatment alternative to the pharmaceutical intervention of depression in primary care.

Physician modeling influences on patient smokers

We assessed blind integrity in a double-blinded study comparing paroxetine 20 mg with inert placebo in 20 volunteer subjects who were attempting to stop using methamphetamines. At the end of the study, the blinded clinicians reviewed subject charts and attempted to identify the assigned conditions for the 13 subjects who completed two or more weeks of the study. The three subjects who completed the entire study also attempted to identify their conditions on a questionnaire. We conclude that the blind may unwittingly be broken when the treatments under study are placebo and the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) paroxetine. The integrity of the blind should be tested in all double-blind SSRI studies.