Both dissertations were written within the framework of the ERiCA project, which has been testing and evaluating an internet-delivered psychodynamic therapy (IPDT) for adolescents with depression in recent years. Jakob and Karin developed the IPDT programme, conducted the studies and wrote the research articles (three as first authors each), all of which have been published in renowned journals and are now included in the theses.

Jakob and Karin, you have worked on the same project during your doctoral studies. How has it been and how are the theses related?

– It has been a privilege to work side by side in this way. It is common for doctoral students to feel quite alone in their work, but we have been able to learn from each other, and there has always been someone to talk to who also knows the project in detail. It was also a very large project, so logistically it was an absolute necessity to be more than one person. The theses are connected in that they deal with the treatment that we developed and evaluated together in the project, but they have a slightly different focus. 

How do your theses differ? How do they complement each other?

– Apart from the outcome articles, the theses have slightly different focuses. We have looked at different aspects of the treatment process and used different methods. Jakob's thesis contains the major outcome article which is the main study of the project, comparing our psychodynamic treatment (IPDT) with a previously researched internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy. In addition, he examines aspects of the therapy process to understand more about how the treatment works. In addition to the first outcome article on IPDT for adolescent depression, Karin's thesis focuses more on the therapeutic relationship in IPDT from different perspectives. 

What are the main reasons for attending both defences and reading both theses?

– If you are interested in internet-delivered psychodynamic treatment, both treatment outcomes and process, this is a chance to really immerse yourself in the subject from several different perspectives. This is the first project to evaluate IPDT for young people, and there are now two theses on the subject, so if you read them both you will know most of what there is to know about IPDT! 

Read Jakob Mechler's thesis entitled Beyond the Blank Screen: Internet-Delivered Psychodynamic Therapy for Adolescent Depression: Evaluating Non-Inferiority, the Role of Emotion Regulation, and Sudden Gains

Read Karin Lindqvist's thesis entitled Making Connections: Outcomes and the Role of the Therapeutic Relationship in Internet-Delivered Psychodynamic Treatment for Adolescent Depression

Read more about the ERiCA project