Introduction
depressive disorder, MDD, depressive disorders
DISORDER
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent mental disorder, with a lifetime prevalence of 2–21% worldwide (Gutierrez-Rojas, Porras-Segovia, Dunne, Andrade-Gonzalez, & Cervilla, According to Chinese treatment guidelines pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy are recommended treatments for depressive disorders (Li & Ma, Psychodynamic psychotherapy is frequently used to treat MDD, with a growing body of empirical research supporting its efficacy (Connolly Gibbons et al., DIT has recently been developed as a 16-session manualized dynamic psychotherapy that is grounded in object relations, attachment, mentalization, and interpersonal theories (Lemma, Target, & Fonagy, As one of the recommended psychotherapeutic approaches in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies initiative in the UK (Chen, Ingenito, Kehn, Nehrig, & Abraham, 