5 Clinically Relevant Studies on CBT

1. Effect of a Cognitive-Behavioral Prevention Program on DepressionKEY FINDINGS: CBP is a promising intervention for the prevention of depression. Although participants received the most benefit from CBP in the early months of the study, at 75-month follow-up the incidence of depression was still lower among adolescents in the CBP group than among those who received usual care alone. Whether additional “booster” CBP sessions would provide further protection remains to be determined. [JAMA Psych-Abstract]

2. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy Versus AntidepressantsKEY FINDINGS: This study is particularly relevant since many patients express a desire to learn about alternative treatments for depression. In participants with a history of recurrent depressive episodes, MBCT-TS was not superior to maintenance antidepressant treatment in the prevention of relapse. Both treatments did, however, seem to have a similar effect on participants’ quality of life and residual depressive symptoms, and they decreased relapse or recurrence. MBCT-TS can be further investigated as a potential alternative to pharmacotherapy for depression maintenance treatment. [THE LANCET-free full article]

3. CBT for the Treatment of HypochondriasisKEY FINDINGS: In this study, 36.8% of the CBT group went into remission, compared with 54.1% of the exposure therapy group. After treatment, when the whole sample was combined (patients who underwent CBT and those who had exposure therapy), 45.3% of patients went into remission and 72.0% responded to treatment. At 12 months, the whole sample remission rate was 54.7% and the response rate was 68.0%. The differences between exposure therapy and CBT were not significant. In general, patients’ and therapists’ evaluations of clinical improvement were more comparable to remission rates than to response rates. [J NERV MENT DIS-ABSTRACT]

4. Telephone-Delivered CBTKEY FINDINGS: Patients in late life can experience generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), but there appear to be age-related differences in its manifestation. Access to psychiatric treatment for older adults may be limited in rural areas, and this problem may worsen as the so-called “baby boomers” continue to age. Both treatments reduced symptoms of worry, depression, and GAD. However, telephone CBT produced superior results. Implementation of telephone CBT may decrease structural barriers that many older adults experience in mental health care.
ABOUT THE STUDY:  A group of 141 rural older adults with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) were studied. Participants were age 60 years and older and had a principal diagnosis of GAD. The study took place in their homes. The telephone CBT group participated in 11 sessions; the telephone NST group had 10 sessions. The participants were evaluated by the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and the Penn State Worry Questionnaire-abbreviated. Follow-up occurred at 2 and 4 months. [JAMA Psych-Abstract]