Social Interaction and Compassion in Depression

The purpose of this study is to determine how a CBCT® (Cognitively Based Compassion-Training) for couples affect aspects of health and especially social interactions in depressed female patients and their romantic partners. compare healthy and depressed couples during an instructed positive real-time social interaction in the laboratory. Furthermore the investigators aim to examine how social behavior and psychobiological indicators of health during real-time social interaction in the laboratory might be improved through CBCT® for couples.

Objects: Will a CBCT® (Cognitively Based Compassion-Training) for couples reduce the depressive symptomatic and the partners´ burden as well as improve behavioral, endocrine, physiological and immune responses during a real time social interaction in the laboratory. Do couples with a depressed female partner differ from healthy control couples in behavioral, endocrine, physiological and immune responses during a instructed positive real-time social interaction in a laboratory setting?