Psychological therapies for treatment-resistant depression in adults: a Cochrane Review

Abstract

A random-effects meta-analysis of five trials (n = 575) showed that psychotherapy given in addition to usual care (vs usual care alone) produced improvement in self-reported depressive symptoms (MD −4.07 points, 95% confidence interval (CI) −7.07 to −1.07 on the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) scale) over the short term (up to six months). An economic analysis (conducted as part of an included study) from the UK healthcare perspective (National Health Service (NHS)) revealed that adjunctive CBT was cost-effective over nearly four years. Authors’ conclusions Moderate-quality evidence shows that psychotherapy added to usual care (with antidepressants) is beneficial for depressive symptoms and for response and remission rates over the short term for patients with TRD.