Burns 2005

Methods	RCT
Participants	N = 40 (21M, 19F) Dementia diagnosis according to NINCDS‐ADRDA criteria, a Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) of 1 indicating mild dementia, MMSE score > 15 Living in own home with a carer with regular contact Clinically stable (for the last 2 months) if on anti‐dementia or psychotropic medication Mean age = 75.8
Interventions	Psychodynamic interpersonal therapy (improving social and interpersonal relationships, identification of conflicts that cause or maintain emotional distress). Therapist also spends time with carer (listening to their needs and informing them of therapeutic progress) Duration of intervention: 6 weeks Control group described as standard treatment in AD, consisted of general advice regarding the diagnosis and treatment of dementia, with out‐patient review
Outcomes	Patient Outcomes Cognitive function: Mini‐Mental State Examination (MMSE) Depression: Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) Other patient outcomes: Bristol Activities of Daily Living (BADLS) Clinician’s Interview‐Based Global Impression of Change (CIBI) Caregiver outcomes Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (RMBPC) ‐ Carers reaction General Health Questionnaire (GHQ‐12) Beck Depression Inventory ((BDI‐II) (scores on this measure not available) Ways of Coping Checklist (WCCL) Outcomes reported at 6 weeks and 3 months (only 6 week data included in the review)
Notes	6 sessions of psychodynamic interpersonal therapy of 50 minutes each over 6 weeks NINCDS‐ADRDA ‐ National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Diseases and Stroke/Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	Participants were allocated to one of the two groups using computer‐generated random numbers
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	Computer generated random numbers were organised independently
Blinding of participants and personnel (performance bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	No information is provided
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Unclear risk	No information is provided about assessors
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Intention‐to‐treat analyses conducted No attrition
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	High risk	One pre‐specified outcome (Beck Depression Inventory for carers) not reported
Other bias	Low risk	No other apparent bias