title: Psychotherapy for depression in adults: a meta-analysis of comparative outcome studies.
abstract: Although the subject has been debated and examined for more than 3 decades, it is still not clear whether all psychotherapies are equally efficacious. The authors conducted 7 meta-analyses (with a total of 53 studies) in which 7 major types of psychological treatment for mild to moderate adult depression (cognitive-behavior therapy, nondirective supportive treatment, behavioral activation treatment, psychodynamic treatment, problem-solving therapy, interpersonal psychotherapy, and social skills training) were directly compared with other psychological treatments. Each major type of treatment had been examined in at least 5 randomized comparative trials. There was no indication that 1 of the treatments was more or less efficacious, with the exception of interpersonal psychotherapy (which was somewhat more efficacious; d = 0.20) and nondirective supportive treatment (which was somewhat less efficacious than the other treatments; d = -0.13). The drop-out rate was significantly higher in cognitive-behavior therapy than in the other therapies, whereas it was significantly lower in problem-solving therapy. This study suggests that there are no large differences in efficacy between the major psychotherapies for mild to moderate depression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Psychology, VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. P. Cuijpers@psy.vu.nl
authors.forename: Pim
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cuijpers
authors.forename: Annemieke
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: van Straten
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: van Oppen
mesh_terms: D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D016896:Treatment Outcome