Text Size
Smaller
Bigger
Depression

Telephone Therapy for Depression Almost as Good as in Person Counseling

posted 02:15 AM EST, Sat May 15, 2010

Researchers at Brigham Young University say that receiving counseling over the phone seems almost as effective as in-person therapy for the treatment of depression.

Brigham Young University researchers compared the effectiveness of telephone counseling for major depression with traditional, in person counseling – and they say that telephone counseling seems to work almost as well.

30 study subjects recently diagnosed with major depression agreed to try telephone therapy as an alternative to conventional office based in-person therapy. These subjects received as many as 8 phone counseling sessions with a therapist, with calls lasting between 21 and 52 minutes in duration. None of the subjects had taken anti depressants for at least 6 months preceding the study, but all subjects were free to seek additional therapy of any kind after the onset of the study therapy.

After 6 months:

  • 42% of subjects said they were no longer depressed
  • 69% reported feeling very satisfied with their phone based therapeutic experience

The researchers say that therapy offered in person has a ‘recovery’ rate after 6 months of about 50%, and so the 42% recovery rate seen in this study is reasonably similar.

Lead researcher Professor Diane Spangler says that since telephone based therapy seems to work about as well as in person counseling, that "Offering a phone or webcam option for psychotherapy does appear warranted from an efficacy point of view. It's more user-friendly - no commutes, more flexibility of place and time - and has no side-effects."

The full study results can be read in the June edition of Behavior Therapy.

Subscribe Subscribe to this topic category
Story Highlights
  • Phone: Therapy works almost as well as in person therapy for those with major depression
Creative Commons License
Copyright Notice
We welcome republishing of our content on condition that you credit Choose Help and the respective authors. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Helpful Information
Overcoming Depression: Feeling Good Again with Mindfulness
Mindfulness and Depression: Learning to Feel Good Again © Premasagar
How Mindfulness can overcome depression, teach us how to ignore unwanted thoughts and help us choose what is healthy for ourselves. Read Article
Depression Treatment August 29, 2023
Use Gut Bacteria to Fight Anxiety and Depression
Gut Bacteria Protect Your Mental Health. Learn How to Protect Your Microbiome © NIAID
Imbalanced gut bacteria may increase your risk of anxiety, depression, obesity and a host of other diseases. Learn how digestive bacteria can cause anxiety and find out how dietary changes can help you instill or protect an optimal balance of beneficial bacteria. Read Article
Co-Occurring Disorders September 06, 2017

This website is certified by Health On the Net Foundation. This site complies with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health information.

Find Treatment
Browse by region »
Scan to call us
using your phone camera app