The British Journal of Psychiatry (2008) 193: 181-184. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.106.025981
© 2008 The Royal College of Psychiatrists
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REVIEW ARTICLE

Computerised cognitive–behavioural therapy for depression: systematic review

Eva Kaltenthaler, BSC, MSc, PhD, Glenys Parry, BA, PhD, DipClinPsych, CPsychol, FBPsS and Catherine Beverley, MSc, BSc, MCLIP

School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR), University of Sheffield

Michael Ferriter, BA, MPhil, MSc, PhD

Department of Research and Development Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust, Rampton Hospital, Nottingham, UK

Correspondence: Eva Kaltenthaler, ScHARR, University of Sheffield, Regent Court, 30 Regent Street, Sheffield S1 4DA, UK. Email: e.kaltenthaler{at}sheffield.ac.uk

Declaration of interest

None. Funding detailed in Acknowledgements.

Background

Computerised cognitive–behavioural therapy (CCBT) is used for treating depression and provides a potentially useful alternative to therapist cognitive–behavioural therapy (CBT).

Aims

To systematically review the evidence for the effectiveness of CCBT for the treatment of mild to moderate depression.

Method

Electronic databases were searched to identify randomised controlled trials. Selected studies were quality assessed and data extracted by two reviewers.

Results

Four studies of three computer software packages met the inclusion criteria. Comparators were treatment as usual, using a depression education website and an attention placebo.

Conclusions

There is some evidence to support the effectiveness of CCBT for the treatment of depression. However, all studies were associated with considerable drop-out rates and little evidence was presented regarding participants’ preferences and the acceptability of the therapy. More research is needed to determine the place of CCBT in the potential range of treatment options offered to individuals with depression.


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