Study Looks at Why Internet Cognitive Therapy for Depression Is Beneficial

MONDAY, July 10, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The active ingredients of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) on depression are unclear, apart from absorption training, which has a significant treatment effect, according to a study published online June 28 in JAMA Psychiatry.

Edward Watkins, Ph.D., from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, and colleagues conducted a randomized optimization trial to examine the individual main effects and interactions of seven treatment components within internet-delivered CBT for depression. A total of 767 adults with depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 [PHQ-9] score ≥10) were recruited and randomly assigned with equal probability to seven experimental factors within the internet CBT platform.

The researchers found that participants receiving internet-delivered CBT had reduced depression on average (pre- to posttreatment difference in PHQ-9 score, −7.79; six-month follow-up difference in PHQ-9 score, −8.63). For the presence versus absence of activity scheduling, functional analysis, thought challenging, relaxation, concreteness training, or self-compassion training, no main effect was found on depression symptoms posttreatment or at six-month follow-up. A significant main effect on depressive symptoms was only seen for absorption training at six-month follow-up.

"We cautiously suggest that internet-delivered CBT may reduce depression through an as-yet-undetermined combination of spontaneous remission, pan-therapy common factors, and factors common to all CBT components, although further replication is needed," the authors write.

One author disclosed ties to the publishing industry.

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