Online Therapy Helps Treat Anxiety and Depression
December 13th, 2017
Online therapy, both alone and in combination with an internet support group, is a more effective treatment for anxiety and depression than a doctor’s usual primary care, according to recent research from the University of Pittsburgh. Researchers enrolled 704 patients and randomly assigned them to one of three groups: an eight session computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (CCBT) program, an eight session CCBT program plus an online internet support group (ISG), or usual care by a patient’s primary care physician. Cognitive behavioral therapy is a type of counseling that focuses on changing certain thoughts and behavior patterns to control the symptoms of a condition. Online or computerized CBT is widely used in other countries but is relatively uncommon in the United States.
After six months in the study, patients in the CCBT+ISG and CCBT-alone groups both reported significant improvements in their mood and anxiety symptoms versus patients receiving usual care, and these improvements lasted for six months after the end of the intervention. However, the addition of the ISG provided no additional benefit over CCBT alone. Researchers also found that the more CCBT sessions patients completed, the greater the improvement in their symptoms, highlighting the critical importance of patient engagement with online interventions. “Providing access to these effective emerging technologies may be an ideal method to deliver mental health treatment to depressed and anxious patients at [a large] scale, especially to those who live in areas with limited access to care or personal obligations that make in-person counseling difficult to obtain,” said lead author Bruce Rollman, MD, MPH. “Our study findings have important implications for transforming the way mental health care is delivered in primary care and focus further attention on the emerging field of e-mental health in the United States.”
Interested in anxiety and depression research study opportunities? Visit the Pitt+Me Mental Health and Behavior Studies page.