Exploring psychotherapists' experiences in delivering effective treatment for major depression in Saudi Arabia: a qualitative study

Abstract

Psychotherapists in Saudi Arabia face several challenges when treating patients with major depression. This qualitative study aims to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences and challenges faced by mental health professionals when delivering therapeutic interventions to patients diagnosed with major depressive disorder within the unique cultural and social dynamics of Saudi Arabia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Saudi psychotherapists (n = 13) treating patients with major depression. Data were collected through detailed interview notes and analysed using thematic analysis. According to the perspectives of the psychotherapists, the challenges encountered were grouped around two key factors: factors related to therapists and factors related to patients. Findings from the thematic analysis showed that therapists' motivation, patients' family support, recency of the problem, patients' personality, their belief in psychotherapy, financial reasons, the therapeutic relationship, and social support were the factors related to treatment success. The results show that both therapist-related factors (such as motivation, personal and professional needs) and patient-related factors (such as family support, personality, recentness of the problem, and financial problems) might be related to treatment success. These findings highlight the complex, multidimensional nature of the factors contributing to successful psychological treatment outcomes.

Keywords: Major depressive disorder; Psychotherapeutic barriers; Psychotherapists; Psychotherapy; Qualitative analysis.

Fig. 1

A diagrammatic representation of the results from the thematic analysis of the data. Note. Themes and subthemes were derived from qualitative analysis of therapist reports. MDD = Major Depressive Disorder.