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Comparing Message-Based Psychotherapy to Once-Weekly, Video-Based Psychotherapy for Moderate Depression: Randomized
Jiyoung Song1, Boris Litvin2, Ryan Allred3
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States.
Journal of Medical Internet Research
|June 29, 2023
Summary
Message-based psychotherapy shows significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and functional impairment, offering an accessible alternative to traditional therapy. This asynchronous approach is as effective as video-based therapy for major depressive disorder.
Area of Science:
- Mental Health
- Psychotherapy Research
- Digital Health
Background:
- Major depressive disorder (MDD) poses a significant societal burden.
- Access to traditional face-to-face or video-based psychotherapy is often challenging.
- Asynchronous messaging therapy offers a flexible alternative for mental health care.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy and acceptability of message-based psychotherapy versus video-based psychotherapy for depression.
- To evaluate asynchronous messaging therapy as a potential treatment for MDD.
Main Methods:
- A 2-armed randomized controlled trial (N=83) with individuals diagnosed with depressive symptomatology.
- Intervention groups: message-based (asynchronous messages) vs. video-based (weekly sessions).
- Outcomes measured: depression, anxiety, functional impairment, treatment credibility, and therapeutic alliance.
Main Results:
- Message-based therapy demonstrated significant, medium-to-large improvements in depression, anxiety, and functional impairment.
- Message-based therapy was non-inferior to video-based therapy in reducing symptoms and impairment.
- No significant differences were found in treatment credibility, therapeutic alliance, or engagement between the two conditions.
Conclusions:
- Message-based psychotherapy is an effective and accessible treatment modality for depression.
- It serves as a viable alternative for patients unable to access traditional scheduled therapy.
- This study provides the first randomized controlled trial evidence for asynchronous messaging therapy in depression.
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