The Psychosocial Research and Depression Clinic Department of Psychiatry

Director: Robin B. Jarrett, Ph.D., Professor of Psychiatry Elizabeth H. Penn Professorship in Clinical Psychology

The Mission

The Psychosocial Research and Depression Clinic exists (1) for the purpose of learning about the etiology, maintenance, course, and treatment of mood and related disorders, with special emphasis on the role of psychosocial factors and psychotherapy, (2) to develop better interventions for patients with these disorders, and (3) to disseminate  (through collaboration, presentation, publication, teaching, and technology) findings that promote a better understanding of depression, psychotherapy, and the impact of psychosocial factors.

In short, the Psychosocial Research and Depression Clinic’s research team investigates the role of psychosocial factors (including psychotherapy) on the course of mood and mood-related disorders.  The National Institute of Mental Health has continuously funded these studies since 1989.

Collaboration and Content Are Key

The interdisciplinary team is both international and far-reaching, consisting of investigators from UT Southwestern and beyond.  At present, collaborations are active with investigators at The University of Pennsylvania, The University of Pittsburgh, The University of Iowa, Truman State University, Kent State University, Southern Methodist University, and The University of Jena (in Germany). At UT Southwestern, the Psychosocial Research and Depression Clinic collaborates with investigators in the Child Division, the Family Studies Center, the Women’s Mental Health Center, and the Department of Clinical Science.  The team includes psychologists, psychiatrists, biostatisticians, research associates, private practitioners, nurses, physician’s assistants, trainees, and administrators.  Several members of the team have worked together for more than 15 years.

Treatment development and evaluation has been a tradition in the Psychosocial Research and Depression Clinic.  Here they have formulated and demonstrated the efficacy of continuation phase cognitive therapy in preventing relapse in adults with recurrent depression. Dr. Jarrett has collaborated with Betsy Kennard, PsyD and her associates in evaluating the generalizability of this finding by developing and testing cognitive-behavioral therapy in preventing depressive relapse in youth who responded to pharmacotherapy.  Dr. Jarrett is collaborating with Anna Brandon, Ph.D. in developing a partner-assisted therapy for women who develop perinatal depression. Such innovation and investigation have the potential to improve public health for vulnerable people.

Dr. Jarrett’s team has conducted a series of studies that have helped to establish the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy for patients with atypical and recurrent major depressive disorder.  The research group is now examining the long-term efficacy of cognitive therapy in preventing depressive relapse and recurrence compared to Prozac (fluoxetine) and pill placebo (used as continuation phase treatments).  This multi-site randomized clinical trial, conducted in collaboration with Wayne Denton, M.D., Ph.D. and Michael Thase, M.D. (The University of Pennsylvania, The University of Pittsburgh), has developed the largest known data set of its kind (i.e., longitudinal evaluation of adults with recurrent depression treated with cognitive therapy [N>500]).  There are many opportunities for colleagues and trainees to participate in understanding how psychosocial factors have influenced the course of illness for this large and unique sample of patients.

Innovation and Improvement Are Constant

The team will continue to search for the moderators and mechanisms by which cognitive therapy and other interventions reduce the risk of recurrent depression and promote recovery in vulnerable people.  They are focused on innovations which permit refinements in therapeutic strategies to further enhance the longer-term efficacy and durability of treatment.  In addition, they are interested in new technologies to better disseminate efficacious depression-specific interventions for at risk populations.

Trainees Are Welcome

The Psychosocial Research and Depression Clinic welcomes trainees, including psychiatry residents and graduate students in clinical psychology, who want to learn how to conduct rigorous, publishable studies with the potential to have a significant impact on the field.  More than 95 trainees at all levels have been part of the Psychosocial Research and Depression clinic since its inception. The trainees become a part of the collaborative team and participate in all aspects of the research process including research design; requesting IRB approval; collecting and managing data; analyzing and interpreting data; and presenting results to the scientific community in oral and written form.  Past trainees have published in top-tier journals and leave the laboratory reporting that they “understand what clinical research is all about.”