Journal of Affective Disorders 200 (2016) 5157

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Journal of Affective Disorders

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jad

Research paper

The Effects of MindfulnessBased Cognitive Therapy and Cognitive

Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy added to Treatment as
Usual on suicidal ideation in chronic depression: Results of a
randomized-clinical trial
Thomas Forkmann a,n, Eva-Lotta Brakemeier b, Tobias Teismann c, Elisabeth Schramm d,
Johannes Michalak e
a

Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Hospital of RWTH Aachen University, Germany
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Berlin University of Psychology, Germany
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ruhr-Universitt Bochum, Germany
d
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, Germany
e
Department of Psychology and Psychotherapy, Witten/Herdecke University, Germany
b
c

art ic l e i nf o

a b s t r a c t

Article history:
Received 8 October 2015
Received in revised form
5 January 2016
Accepted 24 January 2016
Available online 19 April 2016

Background: Suicidal ideation (SI) is common in chronic depression, but only limited evidence exists for
the assumption that psychological treatments for depression are effective for reducing SI.
Methods: In the present study, the effects of Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT; group version) plus treatment-as-usual (TAU: individual treatment by either a psychiatrist or a licensed psychotherapist, including medication when indicated) and Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP; group version) plus TAU on SI was compared to TAU alone in a prospective, bi-center,
randomized controlled trial. The sample consisted of 106 outpatients with chronic depression.
Results: Multivariate regression analyses revealed different results, depending on whether SI was assessed via self-report (Beck Depression Inventory suicide item) or via clinician rating (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale suicide item). Whereas signicant reduction of SI emerged when assessed via
clinician rating in the MBCT and CBASP group, but not in the TAU group while controlling for changes in
depression, there was no signicant effect of treatment on SI when assessed via self-report.
Limitations: SI was measured with only two single items.
Conclusions: Because all effects were of small to medium size and were independent of effects from other
depression symptoms, the present results warrant the application of such psychotherapeutical treatment
strategies like MBCT and CBASP for SI in patients with chronic depression.
& 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Keywords:
Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of
Psychotherapy
Suicidal ideation
Chronic depression
Persistent depression
RCT

1. Introduction
Suicide is among the 10 leading causes of death in most
countries (WHO, 2014) and the number of suicide attempts is
estimated to be up to fteen times higher than the number of
actual deaths by suicide (Borges et al., 2010). About 40% of individuals who died by suicide experienced depressive illness before their death (Arsenault-Lapierre et al., 2004). Chronic depression, which represents approximately 2030% of all depressive
disorders, is known to have a higher risk for suicide compared to
acute, episodic depression (e.g. Torpey and Klein, 2008; Arnow
n

Corresponding author.
E-mail address: tforkmann@ukaachen.de (T. Forkmann).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.01.047
0165-0327/& 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

et al., 2003). Suicidal ideation (SI) in chronic depression tends to

have a chronic course, too. In a community-based cohort study,
Young et al. (2008) found that 51% of all patients with a chronic
depression reported persisting SI within a follow-up interval of 32
months, while only 32% received either appropriate medication or
counseling.
Although it seems plausible to assume that psychological
treatments for depression not only affect depressed affect but also
SI, this assumption has lately been called into question (Cuijpers
et al., 2013). Recent research suggests that suicidal thoughts and
behavior are not merely a part or a symptom of a depressive disorder but represent a separate nosological entity (Ahrens and
Linden, 1996; Ahrens et al., 2000; Forkmann et al., 2013; Kendel
et al., 2010; Leboyer et al., 2005; Van Orden et al., 2011). Cuijpers

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T. Forkmann et al. / Journal of Affective Disorders 200 (2016) 5157

et al. (2013) found in a recent meta-analysis only three randomized controlled studies for adult depression in which SI and
suicidal behavior was used as a clearly specied outcome measure.
The pooled results indicated very small and non-signicant effects
of psychotherapy for depression on suicidality, but there was not
enough statistical power to consider this a true effect. Moreover, in
a meta-regression analysis with the effect size on SI as dependent
variable and the effect size on depression as predictor, they found
no signicant association between both, thus indicating that the
effect of treatments on suicidality was independent from the effect
on depression. In addition to the studies identied by Cuijpers
et al. (2013) two recent studies investigated the effect of psychotherapy for depression on SI. Weitz et al. (2014) found that
Interpersonal Therapy (IPT) had some effectiveness for reducing SI.
However, this effect vanished when controlling for change in depression. A recent pilot study by Ducasse et al. (2014) demonstrated that Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), a third
wave behavioral therapy including mindfulness elements might
signicantly reduce SI. However, its generalizability is limited due
to a small sample size and the absence of a control group.
One further psychotherapeutic approach that may be a treatment option not only for depression but also for SI is Mindfulnessbased Cognitive Therapy (MBCT; Segal et al., 2002) originally designed for relapse prevention of remitted patients with a Major
Depressive Disorder (MDD). MBCT is a group-based program
combining intensive training in meditative practices with cognitive-behavioral elements targeted at depression. MBCT as a treatment option for suicidality is based on the idea, that once a person
has suffered a suicidal crisis, suicidal thoughts are likely to become
reactivated as part of a suicidal mode of mind whenever sad mood
reappears (Williams and Swales, 2004). MBCT may target this
process by enabling people to adopt a different, more decentered
relationship with their own thoughts, feelings and body sensations, thus preventing these experiences from launching a downward mood spiral that could otherwise lead to another suicidal
crisis. Several studies have shown that MBCT can reduce the risk of
depressive relapse/recurrence in formerly depressed patients (Piet
and Hougaard, 2011). Moreover, Barnhofer et al. (2009) examined
the effects of MBCT plus Treatment as Usual (TAU: continuation of
current medication and appointments with mental health practitioners) in comparison to TAU alone in 28 patients suffering from
chronic depression with a history of SI and suicidal behavior. Results suggested a signicant effect of MBCT on depression but not
on SI. The effect size for the difference between pre- and posttreatment assessments of SI in the MBCT group was d 0.48. It
might be that this effect would have reached signicance in a
larger sample with sufcient power. Furthermore, in a sample of
patients with residual depressive symptoms, Forkmann et al.
(2014) found a signicant reduction in SI in a MBCT group (n 64),
whereas no signicant changes occurred in a wait-list controlgroup (n 66) by comparing baseline and post treatment assessments. This interaction effect was independent from the impact of
changes in depression, rumination, and mindfulness skills. However, change in worry was a signicant covariate of the specic
reduction of suicidality in the MBCT group as compared to the
control group. Yet, it remains unclear whether this effect holds
true for a sample of chronic depressed patients.
A specic psychotherapeutic model that has been proposed as
being effective for the treatment of chronic depression is the
Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy (CBASP;
McCullough, 2000). Concerning suicidality, the CBASP therapist
received special techniques to deal and cope with suicidal behavior. With the background of the Signicant Other History a list
consisting of signicant persons and their impact on the patient's
life the patient and the therapist could get a deeper understanding of the suicidal thoughts and behavior (f. ex.: Because my

father wanted to perform an abortion, I am feeling unwanted and

tired of life). By using the Disciplined Personal Involvement, suicidal patients can learn that their suicidal thoughts and plans
authentically concern and worry the therapist (such as: That you
are thinking about killing yourself, really worries and shocks me).
While using the Interpersonal Discrimination Exercise suicidal
patients can realize that the therapist reacts mostly different in
comparison with the signicant others who for example have ignored or punished suicidal behavior. In addition, by conducting
Situational Analysis with situations where suicidal thoughts or
behavior appear patients could learn reconstructing suicidal
thoughts and behavior to overcome helplessness and hopelessness
and to reach their positive desired outcomes (f. ex. instead of
withdrawal and suicidal thoughts or behavior asking for help).
CBASP was originally developed for individual sessions. In recent
years, it has been modied for inpatient settings and group formats (Brakemeier and Normann, 2012; Schramm et al., 2012).
In most of the outpatient studies CBASP proved to be an effective treatment, especially in combination with medication
(Keller et al., 2000), in patients with childhood trauma (Nemeroff
et al., 2003), early onset (Schramm et al., 2011), and with a long
duration of treatment (Wiersma et al., 2014). In addition, in an
open study with 70 treatment-resistant chronically depressed inpatients, the CBASP inpatient program signicantly reduced depression severity between pre- and posttreatment assessments
with strong effect sizes and high response rates (Brakemeier et al.,
2011, 2015). In a reanalysis of this study, suicidality as measured
with the respective items of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale
(HAMD) and of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was signicantly reduced after the inpatient treatment and still after
6 and 12 months (Brakemeier, 2014).
The current study is a secondary analysis of a randomized
controlled trial on the effect of MBCT and CBASP group treatment
on depressive symptomatology in chronic depression conducted at
two treatment sites (trial number NCT01065311; Michalak et al.,
2015). The primary analysis has shown that in the overall sample
as well as at one treatment site, MBCT was no more effective than
TAU in reducing depressive symptoms, while it was signicantly
superior to TAU at the other treatment site. CBASP was signicantly more effective than TAU in reducing depressive symptoms in the overall sample and at both treatment sites. However, it
has to be noted that the analysis of differences between sites was a
subsidiary question and it has to be kept in mind that statistical
power for the interpretation of differences between sites is limited. The direct comparison of the effects of MBCT and CBASP revealed no signicant difference but only a statistical trend favoring
CBASP over MBCT. Both treatments had only small to medium
effects on social functioning and quality of life.
The primary aim of the present investigation was to examine
the effects of MBCT and CBASP both conducted in the format of a
group therapy on SI compared to a TAU condition in chronic
depressed patients while controlling for changes in other depressive symptoms. On the supposition that suicide behavior lies
on a continuum from ideation through intent and planning to
action, it seems appropriate to choose SI as the dependent variable
of interest.

2. Methods
2.1. Sample
All outpatients had a current major depressive episode (MDE)
as dened by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 2001)
and experienced depressive symptoms for more than 2 years

T. Forkmann et al. / Journal of Affective Disorders 200 (2016) 5157

without remission. We included three subtypes of depressed patients: (a) patients with chronic major depression (i.e., current
MDE lasting for more than two years); (b) patients meeting criteria
for double depression (current MDE superimposed on an antecedent dysthymic disorder), or (c) patients with current MDE as
part of a recurrent major depression with incomplete recovery
between episodes during the last two years (i.e., depressive
symptoms present during the entire two year period). They were
recruited either by media announcements or through community
health care facilities as well as private practices. Patients were
recruited at two different sites in Germany: the Ruhr megalopolis
and the area of Freiburg im Breisgau. Exclusion criteria that were
used in previous studies on MBCT were applied (e.g., Teasdale
et al., 2000): history of schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder,
current substance abuse, eating disorder, organic mental disorder,
borderline personality disorder, unable to engage with treatment
for physical, practical, or other reasons. Patients with borderline
personality disorders were excluded because their style of interaction might be too difcult to deal with within the group format
of MBCT or CBASP. Mean age of the patients was 54.0 years
(SD 13.24, N 35, 65.7% female) in the TAU group, 50.2 years
(SD 10.5, N 35, 63.9% female) in the CBASP group, and 48.4
years (SD 11.5, N 36, 58.2% female) in the MBCT group. Further
characteristics of the sample and a CONSORT ow diagram illustrating patient ow are presented in detail elsewhere (Michalak
et al., 2015).

53

appointments with psychiatrists) in all three groups is given in

Michalak et al. (2015). In general, no differences between the
groups were found.
2.4.2. Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)
The treatment protocol followed the MBCT manual developed
by Segal et al. (2002). Some minor alterations were made to adapt
the program to chronically depressed patients. More specically,
the presence of acute symptoms was addressed. The program
consists of an individual pre-class interview and eight weekly 2.5h group sessions. Group size was restricted to six patients per class
in the present trial to parallel group size in both psychotherapy
conditions.
2.4.3. Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System for Psychotherapy
(CBASP)
The CBASP treatment protocol followed the manual developed
by McCullough (2000) modied for the group setting by Schramm
et al. (2012). The CBASP program consisted of two individual
treatment sessions and eight weekly 2.5-h group sessions. The
main modications of the individual format included the derivation of the transference hypothesis with regard to the group and to
use Disciplined Personal Involvement more sparsely or replace it
by using the Kiesler Circle model (Kiesler, 1983) in an educative
and structuring way. In order to cover Situational Analyses of all
group members, the number of participants was limited to six.

2.2. Sampling procedures

2.5. Measures

All study procedures were approved by the Research Ethics

Committee of the German Psychological Association (JM 72009)
and all participants signed an informed consent form. All individuals interested in participating in the study took part in a
telephone screening based on the mood disorder module of the
German version of the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV
(SCID; Wittchen et al., 1997). Patients who seemed eligible were
invited for an extended diagnostic interview. Psychiatric diagnoses
were assessed using SCID Axis I and Axis II disorders. All diagnostic
evaluations were conducted by trained and certied clinical psychologists and were reviewed by senior study investigators (J.M. &
E.S.).

2.4. Treatments

2.5.1. Depressive symptoms

Depressive symptoms were assessed using two instruments:
the HAMD and the BDI. The 24-item HAMD (Hamilton, 1960, 1967)
is a widely used interview-based measure of severity of depressive
symptoms covering a range of affective, behavioral, and biological
symptoms. It was the primary outcome measure in the main study
reported on in Michalak et al. (2015). The HAMD was administered
at baseline and post-treatment after the eight weeks treatment
phase by ve trained doctoral-level psychologists. To enhance reliability of the assessment the Structured Interview Guide for the
HAMD (Moberg et al., 2001) was applied. A sample of 36 interviews from the baseline assessment were second-rated for the
HAMD by an independent rater to yield an interrater correlation of
r (34) .97, p o 0.001. To maintain blindness of the raters, patients
were instructed at the beginning of each rating session not to
mention their treatment condition or their psychotherapist during
the interviews.
The BDI (Beck et al., 1996; Hautzinger et al., 2006) was applied
to assess depressive symptoms by self-report. The BDI is a widely
used 21-item measure covering affective, cognitive, and biological
symptoms of depression with good psychometric properties. In
the current sample, the BDI showed good reliability (Cronbach's
.81).
The suicide items were excluded from the HAMD and the BDI
sum scores to avoid overlapping and thus part-whole correlations.

2.4.1. Treatment as Usual (TAU)

All patients were instructed to be in individual care of either a
psychiatrist or a licensed psychotherapist (not member of the
study team) during the study period. If patients were already in
psychiatric/psychotherapeutic individual treatment at study intake, they continued their treatment with this psychiatrist/psychotherapist. Patients were encouraged to continue any current
medication and to attend appointments with their psychiatrist/
psychotherapist. There were no restrictions on other forms of
supplementary treatment. Detailed information on the balance of
active ingredients of TAU (medication, individual psychotherapy,

2.5.2. Suicidal ideation (SI)

SI was measured by using (1.) the respective item from the
interviewer based HAMD (Item 3; Hamilton, 1960) as well as (2.)
the respective item from the self-rating form of the German version of the BDI (Item 9; Beck et al., 1996; Hautzinger et al., 2006).
The suicide item of the HAMD and the suicide item of the BDI have
both repeatedly been used to measure suicidality in clinical studies (e.g., Larsson et al., 1991; Lewinsohn et al., 1993; Weitz et al.,
2014). In terms of convergent validity, the BDI and HAMD suicidality items have been shown to be highly correlated (r .80) with
the rst ve items of the Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (Ballard

2.3. Randomization
At each trial site, patients were randomly assigned to either
TAU or to receive in addition to TAU either MBCT or CBASP.
Block randomization (block size 6) to the three conditions was
performed by an independent allocator using a computer-generated list of random numbers. After patient eligibility was assessed
and informed consent was obtained, patients were formally enrolled in the study. Thirty-six patients were allocated to MBCT, 35
to CBASP, and 35 to TAU.

54

T. Forkmann et al. / Journal of Affective Disorders 200 (2016) 5157

can also be seen in Fig. 1, signicant differences between treatment groups at baseline were found for the BDI suicide item (F
(2100) 4.30; p 0.02).
Paired-samples t-tests revealed that both MBCT and CBASP
reduced suicidal symptoms if measured with the HAMD suicide
item. Suicidality as measured with the BDI suicide item was signicantly reduced by MBCT but not by CBASP. Effect sizes (Cohen's
d) showed medium effects of MBCT on SI both measured with the
HAMD suicide item (d 0.30) and the BDI suicide item (d 0.34).
Moreover, MBCT reduced depression both measured with the
HAMD (d 0.38) and BDI (d 0.52). CBASP affected SI only when
measured with the HAMD suicide item (d 0.50) but not when
measured with the BDI suicide item (d 0.07). However, due to
signicantly lower scores on the BDI suicide item in the CBASP
group than in the MBCT group at baseline, this could be due to a
oor effect in the CBASP group. Again, effects on depression were
of medium size (HAMD: d 0.78; BDI: d 0.60). TAU showed virtually no effects on suicidality but on depression when measured
with the HAMD (d 0.35; Table 1).

et al., 2015; see also Beck et al., 1997). For the HAMD suicide item,
convergent validity has also been shown with the Adult Suicide
Ideation Questionnaire (Reynolds, 1991). Predictive validity of both
the BDI and the HAMD suicide item for later suicidal behavior has
been shown to be good (Brown et al., 2000).
2.6. Data analyses
Analyses were conducted on the intention to treat sample.
Missing data was accounted for by using the last observation
carried forward (LOCF). Analyses of variance (ANOVA) and 2 tests
were used to examine whether treatment groups differed on suicidality at baseline. We conducted paired-samples t-tests and
calculated Cohen's effect size d to analyse whether suicidality as
measured with the HAMD and BDI suicide items were lower after
treatment than at baseline within each single treatment group
(Cohen, 1988). In order to reduce sampling error, effect sizes have
been corrected using a factor provided by Hedges and Olkin
(1985). Multivariate linear regression analyses were used to test
for signicant differences in reduction of suicidal symptoms between the treatment groups (MBCT, CBASP) and TAU. Change in
suicidal symptoms measured with the HAMD and the BDI suicide
items were the dependent variables. For the predictor variables,
dummy variables were used for the MBCT and the CBASP groups
with TAU as reference condition. Analyses were controlled for
changes in depression (measured with the HAMD and BDI total
scores exclusive of the respective suicide items) (model 1). In a
secondary set of multivariate linear regression analyses, we compared the treatment conditions MBCT and CBASP directly to each
other. MBCT was the reference condition.
All analyses were performed using IBM SPSS statistics 20.

3.2. Incremental effects of treatment conditions compared to TAU;

dependent variable: HAMD suicide item
Dummy-coded multivariate linear regression analyses were
conducted with dummy variables for the MBCT and the CBASP
groups with TAU as reference condition. Signicant effects of these
dummy variables on the dependent variable indicated that the
respective treatment condition had a signicantly larger effect on
SI than TAU. Differential effects of treatment conditions were
found if SI was measured with the HAMD suicide item (F(3102)
12.14; p o0.001; Table 2). Both MBCT (model 1: 0.24; p 0.02)
and CBASP ( 0.27; p 0.01) reduced SI signicantly as compared
to TAU while controlling for changes in depression (model 1).
When comparing MBCT and CBASP directly to each other with
MBCT as reference condition, no signicantly different effect of
CBASP ( .07; p .56) compared to MBCT was found (model 2: F
(268) 5.64, p o0.01) (Fig. 2).

3. Results
3.1. Primary outcome analyses
According to the HAMD suicide item, 61.1% of the participants
showed any kind of SI in the MBCT group, 65.7% in the CBASP
group and 62.9% in the TAU group (2 .16, p .92). According to
the BDI suicide item, 77.8% of the participants in the MBCT group
reported any kind of SI, 47.1% in the CBASP group and 75.8% in the
TAU group (2 9.15, p .01). In the MBCT group, 5 participants
reported one or more past suicide attempt, in the CBASP group
8 and in the TAU group 6 (2 .75, p .69).
Means and standard deviations of the HAMD and the BDI suicide items and the HAMD and BDI total scores without the inclusion of the suicide items pre and post treatment are displayed
in Table 1. Baseline scores on the HAMD suicide item did not differ
between treatment groups (F(2103) 0.48; p 0.62). However, as

3.3. Incremental effects of treatment conditions compared to TAU;

dependent variable: BDI suicide item
There was no differential effect of the treatment conditions as
compared to TAU on suicidal symptoms when assessed with the
BDI suicide item while controlling for changes in depression
(model 1) (Table 2). Neither MBCT (model 1: 0.04; p 0.72) nor
CBASP (model 1:  0.10; p 0.32) showed an incremental effect
on the reduction of SI as assessed with the BDI suicide item
compared to TAU. However, when compared to each other with
MBCT as reference condition, CBASP showed a signicantly smaller
effect on suicidality (  .25; p .03) compared to MBCT (model

Table 1
Descriptive statistics and pre-post changes of suicidal ideation in the MBCT, CBASP and TAU group.
MBCT

CBASP
Posta

Pre
M

SD

TAU
Posta

Pre
SD

BDI suicide item

0.86 0.59
0.64
0.68 2.26
HAMD suicide item
0.83 0.81
0.58
0.84 2.17
b
HAMD total
23.03 6.27 19.69 10.27 2.63
BDI totalb
31.31 9.55 25.40 12.70 3.26

0.03
0.04
0.01
0.00

0.34
0.50 0.56
0.46 0.66
0.30
1.03 0.89
0.57 0.92
0.38 24.71 6.69 18.03 9.76
0.52 30.27 7.52 24.43 11.34

SD

Posta

Pre
SD

0.70
4.12
5.50
3.55

0.49
0.00
0.00
0.00

0.07
0.91
0.50
0.89
0.78 23.11
0.60 29.77

SD

SD

0.72
0.88
0.77
0.90
1.06 1.00
6.33 20.91
7.86
7.42 28.64 10.24

0.49
 1.23
2.87
1.65

0.62
0.23
0.01
0.11

0.04
 0.18
0.35
0.12

a
Missing data was accounted for by using the last observation carried forward (LOCF). MBCT: Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy; CBASP: Cognitive Behavioral
Analysis System of Psychotherapy; TAU: Treatment as usual; BDI: Beck Depression Inventory; HAMD: Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; M: mean; SD: standard deviation.
b
suicide item excluded.

T. Forkmann et al. / Journal of Affective Disorders 200 (2016) 5157

55

Fig. 1. Change in suicidal ideation as measured with the BDI suicide item in the
different treatment conditions.

Fig. 2. Change in suicidal ideation as measured with the HAMD suicide item in the
different treatment conditions.

2: F(267)7.08, p o0.01).

effect on suicidality was found when suicidality was measured

with the HAMD suicide item. However, when the BDI suicide item
was chosen as dependent variable, MBCT showed a signicantly
larger effect on suicidality than CBASP.
The divergence between results of HAMD and BDI is noteworthy. Several reasons are conceivable. Generally, prior research
has repeatedly shown that the HAMD appears to be more sensitive
to change than the BDI (see e.g., Schneibel et al., 2012; Sayer et al.,
1993). Moreover, Schneibel et al. (2012) found that low extraversion and high neuroticism were associated with higher endorsement of depressive symptoms on the BDI as compared to the
HAMD. In our own data, the discrepancy between HAMD and BDI
might be associated with a potential oor effect. For both HAMD
and BDI suicide items the mean ratings at baseline were o1.
However, as Table 1 shows, HAMD data had slightly larger variance
than BDI data. This larger variance could have facilitated nding a
slightly larger effect of treatments. Second, verbal anchors of the
steps of the rating scales differ. For the BDI item, step 1 refers to
SI without concrete intent or plans to commit suicide. However,
for the HAMD item step 1 refers to more general feelings that life
is not worth living. Step 2 of the BDI item refers to the wish to
commit suicide, whereas step 2 of the HAMD item refers to the
wish to be dead without the concrete implication of suicide. Thus,
steps 1 and 2 of the HAMD item might have been slightly easier,
i.e., probability to endorse this answer option might have been
higher than for the corresponding answer option of the BDI item.
Indeed, at baseline, for a total of n20 participants option two of
the HAMD item was endorsed and only n 3 participants endorsed
option two of the BDI item. A third explanation for the divergent
results is that effects of social desirability could have been more

4. Discussion
The results of the present study showed that both MBCT added
to TAU and CBASP added to TAU have an additional effect on suicidality when measured with the HAMD suicide item. This effect
was robust when controlling for changes in other depression
symptoms. Sizes of the effects of MBCT and CBASP on suicidality
were similar to those reported in prior studies (Barnhofer et al.,
2009; Forkmann et al., 2014). However, it has to be noted that
despite being robust, these effects of MBCT and CBASP on suicidality were not large and it remains an open question whether both
treatments have similar effects on suicidal behavior. Furthermore,
future research must show whether MBCT and CBASP aids in
preventing suicidal relapse.
A different picture emerged when suicidality was assessed via
self-report (BDI suicidality item). In the MBCT group, a signicant
reduction in suicidality was found. However, this effect vanished
by controlling for changes in depression. One might speculate
whether this could potentially be caused by multiple testing or
whether it could be interpreted in line with the common assumption that suicidality is just an epiphenomenon of depression.
In the CBASP group, no signicant change in suicidality was found
when assessed with the BDI suicidality item. This might be at least
partly due to a oor effect. In the CBASP group, suicidality was
signicantly lower than in the MBCT group at baseline which
might have precluded signicant effects in the CBASP group. When
comparing both treatments directly to each other no different

Table 2
Effects of MBCT and CBASP on change in HAMD and BDI suicide scores compared to TAU (model 1) and compared to each other (model 2).
Dependent variable: change in HAMD suicide score

Model 1

Model 2

Dependent variable: change in BDI suicide score

SD

adj. R2

SD

adj. R2

Intercept
change in depression
MBCT vs. TAU
CBASP vs. TAU

 0.33
0.05
0.39
0.44

0.12
0.01
0.16
0.17

 2.77
4.50
2.46
2.66

0.01
0.00
0.02
0.01

0.24

 0.02
0.04
0.05
 0.13

0.10
0.01
0.13
0.13

0.52
0.04
 0.10

 0.18
5.91
0.36
 1.00

0.86
0.00
0.72
0.32

0.26

0.40
0.24
0.27

Intercept
change in depression
CBASP vs. MBCT

0.11
0.04
0.09

0.12
0.01
0.16

0.97
3.07
0.58

0.33
0.00
0.56

0.12

0.10
0.03
 0.27

0.09
0.01
0.12

0.40
 0.25

1.08
3.51
 2.19

0.28
0.00
0.03

0.15

0.36
0.07

Note: MBCT: Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy; CBASP: Cognitive Behavioral Analysis System of Psychotherapy; TAU: Treatment as usual; HAMD: Hamilton Depression
Rating Scale; BDI: Beck Depression Inventory.

56

T. Forkmann et al. / Journal of Affective Disorders 200 (2016) 5157

powerful in the clinician rated HAMD than in the self-rated BDI.

This effect could have led to an articial reduction of reported
symptom burden at post assessment in the HAMD, because participants could have suspected that the interviewer expected them
to have beneted from treatment. However, this supposition is
undermined by the fact that for the total HAMD treatment effects
were not larger than for the total BDI (see Table 1). In sum, the
divergence between results in clinician rated and self-reported
suicidality should be further investigated. Generally, the application of both self-report and clinician rated instruments should be
recommended.
A common mechanism of action that could have accounted for
the incremental effects on suicidality of both MBCT and CBASP in
addition to TAU compared to TAU alone is peer support. MBCT and
CBASP consisted of eight weekly group sessions and one or two
additional individual sessions. TAU contained no formal groupbased intervention but only regular psychiatric / psychotherapeutic treatments. Social isolation is one of the strongest risk
factors for SI and in contrast, marriage, children, and a greater
number of friends are associated with decreased suicide risk (Van
Orden et al., 2010). Additionally, according to contemporary theories on the development of SI and suicidal behavior such as the
Interpersonal Theory of Suicide (Joiner, 2005), or the Integrated
Motivational-volitional Model of Suicidal Behavior (O'Connor,
2011) the absence of reciprocal care is one key component of a
sense of thwarted belongingness that may act as a motivational
moderator or even direct predictor of increases in SI. Thus, the
treatments delivered in groups such as in this case MBCT and
CBASP may have reduced SI by increasing the feeling of social
belongingness of the participants. However, results of a metaanalysis by Tarrier et al. (2008) suggest that for cognitive-behavioral interventions for suicidal thoughts and behavior generally
even larger effects for individual than for group-based treatments
could be found. Thus, the effects of MBCT and CBASP on suicidality
as reported in the present study are probably not reducible to a
simple effect of the group-setting that would have been found in
any other group-based treatment, too.
In all models investigated, change in depression was a signicant predictor of change in SI. This is in line with the assumption that depression and suicidality are closely related psychopathological syndromes. However, our results also show that
both MBCT and CBASP can have an additional effect on suicidality
above that of change in depression. This result corroborates the
view that it cannot be assumed that depression focused interventions will be effective in reducing suicidal thoughts and behavior (Cuijpers et al., 2013) and that suicidal thoughts and behavior are not merely a part or a symptom of a depressive disorder
but represent a separate nosological entity (Ahrens and Linden,
1996; Ahrens et al., 2000; Forkmann et al., 2013; Kendel et al.,
2010; Leboyer et al., 2005; Van Orden et al., 2011).
4.1. Strengths and limitations
Some strengths and limitations should be kept in mind when
appreciating the results of the present study. Treatments were
delivered mostly group-based and with limited duration which
might have had an impact on outcome. Patients were encouraged
to continue any current medication and to attend appointments
with their psychiatrist/psychotherapist. There were no restrictions
on other forms of supplementary treatment. Suicidality was
measured with two single items. Although this is common practice
in this area of research (Ladwig et al., 2010; Weitz et al., 2014;
Krajniak et al., 2013), use of psychometric scales for SI would be
desirable and may improve reliability of assessments in future
investigations. However, it has to be noted that in contrast to prior
studies (e.g., Forkmann et al., 2014; Ladwig et al., 2010) we

included two single items, one self- and one clinician-rated item.
Power of analyses was reasonable for the comparison of the group
therapy conditions (MBCT TAU and CBASP TAU) with TAU
alone, but might have been insufcient for the direct comparison
of CBASP to MBCT (secondary analysis). Although some effort has
been invested to maintain blindness of the raters (i.e., patients
were instructed not to mention their treatment condition or their
psychotherapist during the interviews, ratings and therapy were
conducted in different buildings) there was no direct measure of
blindness. Strengths of the study are the randomized-controlled
design, the inclusion of a control group, and two active treatments.
4.2. Summary and conclusion
In conclusion, results of the present randomized-controlled
trial suggest that both MBCT and CBASP may be successful psychotherapeutic approaches for the group-based treatment of SI in
chronically depressed patients. Incremental effects of both treatments above the effect of TAU were dependent on the way suicidality was assessed (self- vs. clinician-rated) but were independent from changes in depression. Future research should try
to reveal variables that mediate or moderate the effects of MBCT
and CBASP on SI in order to facilitate a deeper understanding of
the clinical mechanisms of action. Because all effects were of small
to medium size and were independent of effects from other depression symptoms, the present results warrant the application of
such psychotherapeutical treatment strategies like MBCT and
CBASP for SI in patients with chronic depression.

Trial registration and funding

This trial was registered (NCT01065311) and was funded by the
German Science Foundation (DFG: Mi 700/4-1).

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