Digital cognitive behavior therapy intervention for depression and anxiety: Retrospective study

Abstract

Background: Digital mental health interventions offer a scalable solution that reduces barriers to seeking care for clinical depression and anxiety. Objective: We aimed to examine the effectiveness of a 12-week therapist supported, app-based cognitive behavioral therapy program in improving symptoms of depression and anxiety within 9 months. Methods: A total of 323 participants with mild to moderately severe depression or anxiety were enrolled in a 12-week digital cognitive behavior therapy program. The analysis was restricted to participants who provided at least one follow-up assessment after baseline. As a result, 146 participants (45.2%) were included in the analysis-74 (50.7%) participants completed assessments at 3 months, 31 participants (21.2%) completed assessments at 6 months, and 21 participants (14.4%) completed assessments at 9 months. The program included structured lessons and tools (ie, exercises and practices) as well as one-on-one weekly video counseling sessions with a licensed therapist for 12 weeks and monthly check-in sessions for 1 year. The clinically validated Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) were used to assess depression and anxiety, respectively. Linear mixed-effects modeling was employed to examine changes in depression and anxiety over time. Results: We observed a significant positive effect of program time on improvement in depression (β=-0.12, P