ArticleEpidemiology and psychiatric sciences2019
Is psychotherapy effective? A re-analysis of treatments for depression.
Article in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 48 papers, 7 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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
48 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Comparative effects of structured exercise protocols on depression and anxiety symptoms: a network meta-analysis.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Pooled it
- Psychotherapies for Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Adults: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis of Randomized Clinical Trials.JAMA psychiatry · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapies for emotional disorders.Nature human behaviour · 2024Pooled it
- Psychotherapy for adult depression in low- and middle-income countries: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Psychological medicine · 2023Pooled it
- Review: systematic review of effectiveness of art psychotherapy in children with mental health disorders.Irish journal of medical science · 2022Pooled it
- Comparative clinical trials in psychotherapy: Have large effects been replicated?Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences · 2020Pooled it
- The Efficacy of Experiential Dynamic Therapies: A 10-Year Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Update.Clinical psychology & psychotherapyPooled it
- Increasing motivation and well-being among medical students using curricular self-experience group sessions-a randomized controlled trial.Medical education online · 2025Trial
- Applying an osteopathic intervention to improve mild to moderate mental health symptoms: a mixed-methods feasibility randomised trial.Chiropractic & manual therapies · 2024Trial
- Pre-Post Differences in Facilitative Interpersonal Skills and Self-Assessment Following Deliberate-Practice Training.Journal of clinical psychology · 2026Article
- Neuroticism, Internalizing Psychopathology, and Affective Reactions to Thought Content in Daily Life.Journal of personality · 2026Article
- In-session emotional experiencing in brief psychotherapy conducted by trainee psychologists: process, alliance, and the role of therapist persuasiveness.Research in psychotherapy (Milano) · 2026Article
- Short-Term Psychodynamic Therapy of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Unmedicated Patients.Psychotherapy and psychosomatics · 2026Article
- The Positive Effect of Negative Stimuli: Exposure to Negative Emotional Stimuli Improves Mood in Individuals with Major Depressive Disorder.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Is psychotherapy orientation important for depressive and anxiety disorder-related work disability outcomes? A prospective nationwide register study.BMC psychiatry · 2025Article
- Longitudinal associations between depressive symptoms and cell deformability: do glucocorticoids play a role?European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience · 2025Article
- Psychological interventions for depression in people with diabetes mellitus.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Article
- Algorithm-Based Modular Psychotherapy Alleviates Brain Inflammation in Generalized Anxiety Disorder.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Nursing Staff in a Large Hospital System Underutilize Insurance-Based Mental Health Services.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Psychotherapy Works - An Inclusive and Affirming View to a Modern Mental Health Treatment.Clinical psychology in Europe · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
AimsThe aim of this study was to reanalyse the data from Cuijpers et al.'s (2018) meta-analysis, to examine Eysenck's claim that psychotherapy is not effective. Cuijpers et al., after correcting for bias, concluded that the effect of psychotherapy for depression was small (standardised mean difference, SMD, between 0.20 and 0.30), providing evidence that psychotherapy is not as effective as generally accepted.
methodsThe data for this study were the effect sizes included in Cuijpers et al. (2018). We removed outliers from the data set of effects, corrected for publication bias and segregated psychotherapy from other interventions. In our study, we considered wait-list (WL) controls as the most appropriate estimate of the natural history of depression without intervention.
resultsThe SMD for all interventions and for psychotherapy compared to WL controls was approximately 0.70, a value consistent with past estimates of the effectiveness of psychotherapy. Psychotherapy was also more effective than care-as-usual (SMD = 0.31) and other control groups (SMD = 0.43).
conclusionsThe re-analysis reveals that psychotherapy for adult patients diagnosed with depression is effective.
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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.