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Table 1 Overview of STEpS (compare Ruesch et al. [23])

From: Cognitive behavioral group therapy for patients with physical diseases and comorbid depressive or adjustment disorders on a waiting list for individual therapy: results from a randomized controlled trial

Session

Topic

Content

1

Behavioral activation I

- Psychoeducation about the relationship between behavior and emotion: Explanation of the downward mood spiral [37]

- Selection of individual positive activities from a checklist [38] and rating of the selected activities

- Scheduling three positive activities for the next week

2

Behavioral activation II

- Review of homework

- Information about the effects of physical activity on depression, physical health, and well-being

- Brainstorming on personal health objectives and possible physical activities to reach these objectives

- Introduction of the MoVo concept [39] and illustration of the different steps in the motivational and volitional process of physical activity. Personal elaboration of the different steps (e.g. building a concrete intention, generating implementation intention, developing counter strategies for anticipated barriers)

3

Cognitive restructuring I

- Psychoeducation about the relationship between thoughts and depressive mood/emotion

- Introduction of the ABC model [40] by means of a role-play

- Practicing the categorization in A (activating event), B (beliefs), and C (consequences) using patients’ examples. Further explanation and illustration of the relevance and changeability of cognitions

4

Cognitive restructuring II

- Introduction of typical cognitive distortions/irrational beliefs [41]

- Identification of individual maladaptive thoughts and development of alternative thoughts

5

Coping with illness

- Information about the coping concept. Psychoeducation about the person and situation specificity of adaptive coping

- Collection of disease-related stressors (e.g. pain, disabilities, unclear illness course). Small group discussion about helpful coping strategies concerning one stressor. Gathering the coping strategies for the different stressors

- Group conversation about personal intentions to try other strategies

6

Social Support

- Introduction to the concept of social support and its relevance concerning chronic illness

- Reflection on the personal social relations through drawing a social atom [42] and clarification about who in the network gives social support and how

- Group conversation about the social network and received social support (e.g. wishes of change)

7

Self-esteem

- Joint development of a definition of self-esteem

- Introduction of the four pillar model of self-esteem (self-acceptance, self-confidence, social skills, social networks) [43]

- Reflection of personal strengths and weaknesses in different aspects of the self (e.g. me as wife, me as professional)

- Wheel of life exercise to reflect the actual and target distribution of life energy on different life domains

8

Meaning

- Introduction of the meaning concept

- Reflection and group conversation about meaningfully moments in life

- Illustration that everyday activities (e.g. the job) can be done technically or meaningful and that meaning can be a resource for coping

- Reflection and group conversation about ideas for more sense of meaning in life