2 - (SYM 120) Examining the Helpfulness of Therapeutic Methods Through Clinical Vignettes in Diverse Populations Experiencing Depression

Background: Contrary to the growing empirical support for cognitive strategies in the treatment of depression, concerns are emerging with regards to the universal application of cognitive strategies, particularly in the context of applying such strategies with clients identifying with a minoritized group. To illuminate clients’ perception of cognitive strategies and validation strategies, we recruited a sample of participants from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds experiencing clinical levels of depression symptoms to examine the perceived helpfulness of varying levels of cognitive change strategies in a series of case vignettes.

Methods: We recruited 262 adults currently endorsing clinical levels of depressive symptoms to complete an online survey. The survey included a set of self-report measures assessing demographics, symptoms, mental help seeking attitudes, and experiences with discrimination. Following these measures, participants were then asked to read three clinical case vignettes with corresponding transcripts illustrating a clinical method a therapist might use to help the hypothetical client in the vignettes (i.e., a cognitive strategy, a validation strategy, and a hybrid of the two strategies). Vignettes varied in racial salience from situations without racial salience to experiencing a microaggression to experiencing overt racist acts. Potential clients were then asked to rate the helpfulness of the strategy presented in each transcript.

Results: A repeated measures ANOVA revealed a significant three-way interaction, F(1865, 4) = 2.80, p = .02, such that validation strategies were always rated less helpful or similarly helpful to cognitive strategies and/or hybrid strategies regardless of ethnic centrality and vignette type.

Conclusion: Participants from diverse racial backgrounds rated therapeutic strategies involving cognitive components as significantly more helpful than validation strategies alone, regardless of their self-reported ethnic centrality and the racial salience of the vignette. While research is warranted to more comprehensively evaluate the efficacy of these strategies for diverse clients, cognitive strategies that aim to identify, challenge, and correct inaccuracies in one’s thinking may be a viable treatment strategy even for clients with minoritized identities.