Low-Intensity Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Interventions by WellBeing Advisors in Lithuania: Reducing Depressive and Anxiety Symptoms and Improving Subjective Well Being
Date Issued | Start Page | End Page |
---|---|---|
2024-09-04 | 382 | 383 |
Poster no. PS67
Abstract Background. Mental and behavioral disorders are increasing, with one of the world’s highest suicide rates linked mainly to depression in Lithuania (Gailienė, 2022). Improving the mental health situation in the country relies on robust health and social systems, ensuring timely, evidence-based support for those with psychological problems. However, scarce and expensive mental healthcare resources hinder the recruitment of specialists, especially in rural areas. To combat resource shortages and overmedication, some countries (Knapstad et al., 2020) train specialists in related fields to provide efficient, evidence-based consultations within a low-intensity Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) framework for early-stage depression and anxiety. Lithuania sought to adapt the good practices (Knapstad et al., 2020) by expanding mental health providers to include nurses, social workers, and public health specialists, aligning with the Europe 2020 strategy to reduce disparities in healthcare across regions. As a result, we aimed to develop and implement the new well-being advisor model and test its preliminary efficacy. Therefore, for this study, the goal was to evaluate the change in subjective well-being as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms after short-term low-intensity CBT interventions by well-being advisors in Lithuania. Methods. The current study included data from 4221 clients (67.4% women, age 42.39±14.44) who were consulted by 28 well-being advisors from 14 municipalities in Lithuania. All well-being advisors were trained and worked within the project during the period from July 2022 to April 2024. In addition to sociodemographic information, we collected data on subjective well-being using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5) (Topp et al., 2015), while depressive and anxiety symptoms were evaluated with the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) (Kroenke & Spitzer, 2002) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-7 (GAD-7) (Spitzer et al., 2006). All data were collected before and after the consultations. Results. The average number of consultations was 4.53±2.32 for one client. We found a significant difference regarding subjective well-being before(WHO-5 scores: 48,68±17,55) and after (WHO-5 mean scores: 67,77±16,95) the sessions ( t = -59.81, p < 0.001). Further, there was also significant change in depressive (PHQ-9 mean scores 8,97±4,58 vs. 4,39±2,98) as well as anxiety symptoms (GAD-7 mean scores 8,96±4,51 vs. 4,30±2,93) after the low intensity CBT interventions provided by well-being advisors (t = 63.57, p < 0.001 and t = 65.87, p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion. The current study suggests significant changes in subjective well-being, as well as depressive and anxiety symptoms, after an average of 4.5 low-intensity CBT interventions delivered by well-being advisors in Lithuania. These results highlight the applicability and utility of low-intensity CBT interventions delivered by specialists in related fields with a relatively short amount of training.