Although Parkinson`s disease (PD) is defined as a motor disorder, non-motor symptoms, particularly neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression and anxiety, are frequent and disabling.
Currently, available treatments for neuropsychiatric symptoms in PD are unsatisfactory, due to frequent adverse effects in psychopharmacological interventions, elevated risk of polypharmacy in the PD group, and lack of availability of evidence-based non-pharmacological treatment options.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is offered to few patients despite strong evidence that CBT is both effective and cost-efficient in reducing neuropsychiatric symptoms in PD. A lack of CBT-therapists within neurological outpatient clinics in general, and in rural areas in particular, is a contributing factor, resulting in differences in available treatment options. Thus, the development of novel, online evidence-based therapeutic strategies is called for.
The ePARK-study is a remote, randomized delayed start trial of the effectiveness of videoconference based cognitive behavioural therapy (eCBT) for PD patients with depressive symptoms. Participants with PD and depressive symptoms will be recruited from neurological clinics in Norway and randomized into two arms: (A) immediate eCBT with concurrent with treatment as usual (TAU) and (B) delayed eCBT with TAU.