Besides cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and interpersonal body psychotherapy (IBP) psychodynamic psychotherapy (PP) has shown to be effective in the treatment of depression.

Application-oriented psychodynamic diagnostics can contribute to an adequate treatment of depressed patients who have a personality-structure based dynamic, which promotes intrapsychic and/or interpersonal conflicts that lead to triggering of depressive episodes and/or chronification. These dimensions can be measured with the Operationalised Psychodynamic Diagnosis (OPD-2).

Comprehensive psychodynamic and non-psychodynamic diagnostics is assessed within the Zurich depression study. A total of 120 probands (30 depressive patients treated with CBT/IBP/PP respectively and 30 healthy probands) will be measured before, after six months and after one year of psychotherapeutic treatment. This design aims at displaying the effects of different psychotherapeutic techniques with psychodynamic diagnostics. Secondary objective is a differentiation between CBT, IBP and PP.

OPD-2 provides an assessment of psychodynamic dimensions like (dysfunctional) interpersonal relations, intrapsychic and interpersonal conflicts and psychic structure (structural capabilities or deficits). The OPD-interview comprises a multimodal and multiaxial approach with an open, mostly unstructured, but also structured conversation style.

The concept of psychic structure is central in the Operationalised Psychodynamic Diagnosis system. The OPD structure questionnaire (OPD-SQ) reflects a broad spectrum of structure based characteristics using psychological concepts (e.g. empathy, communication of affects, selfreflection) and rather clinically meaningful conceptions (impulse control, affect tolerance, self-object-differentiation).

The Heidelberg Personality Restructuring Scale (HSCS) depicts processes of change on the basis of psychoanalytic concepts.

First results will be presented and psychotherapeutic implications will be discussed.