Cost-effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression: current evidence and future research priorities.

Depression is a common psychiatric disorder. Although a variety of antidepressant medications have been shown to be effective, psychological therapies are highly valued by patients and some (such as cognitive-behavioral therapy) may be as clinically effective as antidepressants. Given similar clinical effectiveness, issues of differences in costs between cognitive-behavioral therapy, medication treatments and other approaches to mental healthcare are important. The current article discusses issues relating to the evaluation of the cost-effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy for depression, reviews current empirical evidence concerning cost-effectiveness and highlights key issues for future research.