UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Is psychotherapy effective? A re-analysis of treatments for depression

Munder, T; Flückiger, C; Leichsenring, F; Abbass, AA; Hilsenroth, MJ; Luyten, P; Rabung, S; ... Wampold, BE; + view all (2019) Is psychotherapy effective? A re-analysis of treatments for depression. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences , 28 (3) pp. 268-274. 10.1017/S2045796018000355. Green open access

[thumbnail of aEpidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences_Is-psychotherapy-effective_Accepted.pdf]
Preview
Text
aEpidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences_Is-psychotherapy-effective_Accepted.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (1MB) | Preview

Abstract

Aims The aim of this study was to reanalyse the data from Cuijpers et al.'s (2018) meta-analysis, to examine Eysenck's claim that psychotherapy is not effective. Cuijpers et al.after correcting for bias, concluded that the effect of psychotherapy for depression was small (standardised mean difference, SMD, between 0.20 and 0.30), providing evidence that psychotherapy is not as effective as generally accepted.MethodsThe data for this study were the effect sizes included in Cuijpers et al. (2018). We removed outliers from the data set of effects, corrected for publication bias and segregated psychotherapy from other interventions. In our study, we considered wait-list (WL) controls as the most appropriate estimate of the natural history of depression without intervention.ResultsThe SMD for all interventions and for psychotherapy compared to WL controls was approximately 0.70, a value consistent with past estimates of the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy was also more effective than care-as-usual (SMD = 0.31) and other control groups (SMD = 0.43).ConclusionsThe re-analysis reveals that psychotherapy for adult patients diagnosed with depression is effective.

Type: Article
Title: Is psychotherapy effective? A re-analysis of treatments for depression
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1017/S2045796018000355
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796018000355
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: psychotherapy effectiveness, depression, Eysenck, meta-analysis, natural history
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10056724
Downloads since deposit
332Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item