By Emily Giunta, dailyRx News
Web counseling is an easily accessible and affordable mental health tool. And new evidence suggests it's effective, too.
A new study from Canada found that online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) combined with clinical care may benefit patients with depression, anxiety and illness-related emotional distress more than traditional methods.
"In the age of Google, this psychological intervention is empowering, clinically efficient and consistent with the way that patients increasingly interact with health care," wrote study authors David Gratzer, MD, an attending psychiatrist, and Faiza Khalid-Khan, a social worker and director of mental health at Scarborough Hospital in Toronto.
CBT is a common type of psychotherapy (mental health counseling) that aims to help patients become aware of inaccurate or negative thinking. In turn, CBT can help them see challenging situations more clearly and respond to them in a more effective way.
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For this study, Dr. Gratzer and Khalid-Khan compiled data from multiple other studies that looked at the effectiveness of smartphone and tablet apps for mental illness.
These researchers found that patients who used online CBT had better outcomes overall than patients who didn't, and equal or better outcomes than patients who used in-person CBT. These findings were seen in patients with depression, anxiety and illness-related emotional distress.
According to Dr. Gratzer and Khalid-Khan, online CBT has two primary advantages: patient empowerment and increased clinical efficiency.
In other words, online CBT allows patients to get help wherever and whenever they choose -- a factor that can provide the anonymity patients who are reluctant to speak to a doctor may need. Online CBT also allows doctors to treat patients more effectively in less time and with fewer resources.
"There is as much evidence for cognitive behavioral therapy as there is for medications to treat mild and moderate depression," Dr. Gratzer said in a press release.
This study was published Nov. 2 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
Information on funding sources and conflicts of interest was not available at the time of publication.