Ruth von Brachel1, Gerrit Hirschfeld2, Arleta Berner3, Ulrike Willutzki3, Tobias Teismann4, Jan Christopher Cwik4, Julia Velten4, Dietmar Schulte4, Jürgen Margraf4. 1. Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany, ruth.vonbrachel@rub.de. 2. Faculty of Business and Health, University of Applied Sciences Bielefeld, Bielefeld, Germany. 3. Faculty of Psychology and Psychotherapy, University Witten-Herdecke, Witten, Germany. 4. Mental Health Research and Treatment Center, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Long-term follow-ups several years after receiving cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are scarce and most of the existing literature describes follow-up data of randomized-controlled trials. Thus, very little is known about the long-term effects of CBT in routine care. METHODS: We investigated psychological functioning in a sample of 263 former outpatients who had received CBT for a variety of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety-, eating- or somatoform disorders 8.06 (SD 5.08) years after treatment termination. All participants completed a diagnostic interview as well as the Brief-Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Effect sizes and response rates according to Jacobson and Truax [J Consult Clin Psychol 1991;59:12-9] were calculated from pre- to posttreatment and from pretreatment to follow-up assessment. RESULTS: Pre- to posttreatment effect sizes ranged between 0.75 (BDI) and 0.63 (BSI) and pretreatment to follow-up effect sizes were 0.92 (BDI) and 0.75 (BSI). Of all patients, 29% (BDI) and 17% (BSI) experienced clinically significant change at posttreatment and 42% (BDI) and 24% (BSI) at follow-up. CONCLUSION: The results point to the long-term effectiveness of CBT under routine conditions for a wide array of problems, especially when compared to the long-term effects of medical treatment. It is noteworthy that the results at follow-up were even better than at posttreatment, indicating further improvement. However, about a quarter of the patients did not respond sufficiently to therapy, neither concerning short-term nor long-term effects.
OBJECTIVE: Long-term follow-ups several years after receiving cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) are scarce and most of the existing literature describes follow-up data of randomized-controlled trials. Thus, very little is known about the long-term effects of CBT in routine care. METHODS: We investigated psychological functioning in a sample of 263 former outpatients who had received CBT for a variety of mental disorders such as depression, anxiety-, eating- or somatoform disorders 8.06 (SD 5.08) years after treatment termination. All participants completed a diagnostic interview as well as the Brief-Symptom Inventory (BSI) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Effect sizes and response rates according to Jacobson and Truax [J Consult Clin Psychol 1991;59:12-9] were calculated from pre- to posttreatment and from pretreatment to follow-up assessment. RESULTS: Pre- to posttreatment effect sizes ranged between 0.75 (BDI) and 0.63 (BSI) and pretreatment to follow-up effect sizes were 0.92 (BDI) and 0.75 (BSI). Of all patients, 29% (BDI) and 17% (BSI) experienced clinically significant change at posttreatment and 42% (BDI) and 24% (BSI) at follow-up. CONCLUSION: The results point to the long-term effectiveness of CBT under routine conditions for a wide array of problems, especially when compared to the long-term effects of medical treatment. It is noteworthy that the results at follow-up were even better than at posttreatment, indicating further improvement. However, about a quarter of the patients did not respond sufficiently to therapy, neither concerning short-term nor long-term effects.
Authors: Benjamin Van Voorhees; Tracy R G Gladstone; Kunmi Sobowale; C Hendricks Brown; David A Aaby; Daniela A Terrizzi; Jason Canel; Eumene Ching; Anita D Berry; James Cantorna; Milton Eder; William Beardslee; Marian Fitzgibbon; Monika Marko-Holguin; Linda Schiffer; Miae Lee; Sarah A de Forest; Emily E Sykes; Jennifer H Suor; Theodore J Crawford; Katie L Burkhouse; Brady C Goodwin; Carl Bell Journal: J Med Internet Res Date: 2020-10-28 Impact factor: 5.428