SynthesisPloS one2014
Adherence to Internet-based and face-to-face cognitive behavioural therapy for depression: a meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 4 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 206 papers, 10 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Evaluation of the Crowd-Powered Web Platform for Accumulative Depression and Anxiety Plans and Treatment (ADAPT)
Cultural Adaptation of the Smile is Fun Program for the Treatment of Depression in the Ecuadorian Public Health Care System: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial
Effectiveness of Group Versus Individual Self-management of Depression Using a Mobile App to Increase Treatment Adherence Among Users of a University-based Helpline in the Dominican Republic.
PERSONAE: a Personalized Adaptation of Stepped Care Internet-based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Depression - A Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
206 citing papers in PubMed, 10 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 422 citations in OpenAlex.
- Australian Digital Mental Health Services for Anxiety and Depression: Meta-Analysis and Comparison Study.JMIR formative research · 2026Pooled it
- Personalization variables in digital mental health interventions for depression and anxiety in adolescents and youth: a scoping review.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Pooled it
- Do the effects of internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (i-CBT) last after a year and beyond? A meta-analysis of 154 randomized controlled trials (RCTs).Clinical psychology review · 2024Pooled it
- Digital Mental Health Interventions for Alleviating Depression and Anxiety During Psychotherapy Waiting Lists: Systematic Review.JMIR mental health · 2024Pooled it
- Adherence to Lifestyle Interventions for Treatment of Adults with Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Effects of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Routine Care for Adults in Treatment for Depression and Anxiety: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2020Pooled it
- Internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy for chronic health conditions: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2019Pooled it
- Clarifying the Concept of Adherence to eHealth Technology: Systematic Review on When Usage Becomes Adherence.Journal of medical Internet research · 2017Pooled it
- Improving Employee Well-Being and Effectiveness: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Web-Based Psychological Interventions Delivered in the Workplace.Journal of medical Internet research · 2017Pooled it
- Mental Health Mobile Apps for Preadolescents and Adolescents: A Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2017Pooled it
- Efficacy of a self-guided online resilience intervention for improving mental health among university students: A randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2026Trial
- Randomized Controlled Trial of Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy After Myocardial Infarction With Nonobstructive Coronary Arteries or Takotsubo Syndrome.Journal of the American Heart Association · 2026Trial
- Smartphone cognitive behavioral therapy for prevention of depressive symptoms in patients with recurrent pregnancy loss: an exploratory decentralized, parallel-group, multicenter, open, individually randomized, fully factorial trial.Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences · 2026Trial
- Testing the efficacy of a self-guided psychotherapy intervention for infertility-related distress: a randomized controlled trial.Human reproduction (Oxford, England) · 2026Trial
- Enhancing group lifestyle intervention for depression with ecological momentary assessment: a pilot randomized controlled trial.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Assessing the Efficacy of the INTELLECT Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Mobile App for Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms Among At-Risk Japanese Employees: Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2025Trial
- Cognitive behavioral therapy skills via a smartphone app for subthreshold depression among adults in the community: the RESiLIENT randomized controlled trial.Nature medicine · 2025Trial
- Effect of a web-based intervention on the mental health of informal caregivers of the elderly: a randomized controlled trial.BMC psychiatry · 2025Trial
- Task-sharing and telemedicine delivery of psychotherapy to treat perinatal depression: a pragmatic, noninferiority randomized trial.Nature medicine · 2025Trial
- Culturally Adapted Guided Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Hong Kong People With Depressive Symptoms: Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
146 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundInternet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) is an effective and acceptable treatment for depression, especially when it includes guidance, but its treatment adherence has not yet been systematically studied. We conducted a meta-analysis, comparing the adherence to guided iCBT with the adherence to individual face-to-face CBT.
methodsStudies were selected from a database of trials that investigate treatment for adult depression (see www.evidencebasedpsychotherapies.org), updated to January 2013. We identified 24 studies describing 26 treatment conditions (14 face-to-face CBT, 12 guided iCBT), by means of these inclusion criteria: targeting depressed adults, no comorbid somatic disorder or substance abuse, community recruitment, published in the year 2000 or later. The main outcome measure was the percentage of completed sessions. We also coded the percentage of treatment completers (separately coding for 100% or at least 80% of treatment completed).
resultsWe did not find studies that compared guided iCBT and face-to-face CBT in a single trial that met our inclusion criteria. Face-to-face CBT treatments ranged from 12 to 28 sessions, guided iCBT interventions consisted of 5 to 9 sessions. Participants in face-to-face CBT completed on average 83.9% of their treatment, which did not differ significantly from participants in guided iCBT (80.8%, P = .59). The percentage of completers (total intervention) was significantly higher in face-to-face CBT (84.7%) than in guided iCBT (65.1%, P < .001), as was the percentage of completers of 80% or more of the intervention (face-to-face CBT: 85.2%, guided iCBT: 67.5%, P = .003). Non-completers of face-to-face CBT completed on average 24.5% of their treatment, while non-completers of guided iCBT completed on average 42.1% of their treatment.
conclusionWe did not find studies that compared guided iCBT and face-to-face CBT in a single trial. Adherence to guided iCBT appears to be adequate and could be equal to adherence to face-to-face CBT.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.