The effect of telephone-administered psychotherapy on symptoms of depression and attrition: A meta-analysis

David C. Mohr*, Lea Vella, Stacey Hart, Timothy Heckman, Gregory Simon

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

193 Scopus citations

Abstract

Increasingly, the telephone is being used to deliver psychotherapy for depression, inas a means to reduce barriers to treatment. Twelve trials of telephone-administered psychotherapies, in which depressive symptoms were assessed, were included. There was a significant reduction in depressive symptoms for patients enrolled in telephone-administered psychotherapy as compared to control conditions (d = 0.26, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.14-0.39, p < 0001). There was also a significant reduction in depressive symptoms in analyses of pretreatment to posttreatment change (d = 0.81, 95% CI = 0.50-1.13, p < 0001). The mean attrition rate was 7.56% (95% CI = 4.23-10.90). These findings suggest that telephone-administered psychotherapy can produce significant reductions in depressive symptoms. Attrition rates were considerably lower than rates reported in face-to-face psychotherapy.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)243-253
Number of pages11
JournalClinical psychology: Science and practice
Volume15
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2008

Keywords

  • Depression
  • Meta-analysis
  • Psychotherapy
  • Telemental health

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Clinical Psychology

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