Trial reportPloS one2021
Acceptability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of blended cognitive-behavioural therapy (bCBT) versus face-to-face CBT (ftfCBT) for anxiety disorders in specialised mental health care: A 15-week randomised controlled trial with 1-year follow-up.
Trial report in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 2 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
29 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Therapeutic alliance across delivery modalities: a systematic narrative review of alliance strength and outcome prediction in face-to-face, online, and blended psychotherapy.Journal of Zhejiang University. Science. B · 2026Pooled it
- Efficacy of cognitive behavioral therapy for anxiety and depression in Parkinson's disease patients: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2024Pooled it
- Doing the groundwork at home, working through it together: patient experiences of blended cognitive therapy for PTSD in routine care.European journal of psychotraumatology · 2026Trial
- Cost-Effectiveness of Group Transdiagnostic Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Anxiety Disorders in Primary Care Settings: Economic Evaluation From the Healthcare System Perspective Over a 1-Year Time Horizon.Canadian journal of psychiatry. Revue canadienne de psychiatrie · 2024Trial
- Exploring Patients' Experiences in a Blended Transdiagnostic Group Treatment: Qualitative Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Article
- Risk Factors for Noninitiation and Dropout in Blended Therapy in Inpatient Psychiatric Patients: Retrospective Cohort Study.JMIR human factors · 2026Observational
- The present and future of blended care: current research and introduction to the B-FIT framework.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Review
- Defining and reporting treatment dropout in blended therapy for mental health: scoping review and analysis.NPJ digital medicine · 2026Article
- Tai Chi Training and Pre-Competition Anxiety in High-Level Competitive Athletes: A Chain Mediation Model of Flow and Mental Toughness.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Impact of Telemedicine on Health Expenditures During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Japan: Quasi-Experimental Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- "Who blends in and why (not)?" A qualitative study on psychotherapists' patient inclusion in blended care.Internet interventions · 2025Article
- The role of self-efficacy in internet-based interventions for mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Internet interventions · 2025Review
- Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a blended transdiagnostic group CBT for the treatment of emotional disorders.Internet interventions · 2025Article
- Influence of patient satisfaction, system usability, and working alliance on depressive symptom improvement in blended cognitive behavioral therapy (bCBT): Secondary analysis of an open trial data.Internet interventions · 2025Article
- Real-world evaluation of an evidence-based telemental health program for PTSD symptoms.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Blended Psychological Therapy for the Treatment of Psychological Disorders in Adult Patients: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Interactive journal of medical research · 2024Review
- Effectiveness of a blended group transdiagnostic treatment for emotional disorders: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.Internet interventions · 2024Article
- A large-scale evaluation of therapeutic alliance and symptom trajectories of depression and anxiety in blended care therapy.PloS one · 2024Article
- Integrating digital and in-person therapy for PTSD: feasibility and acceptability of blended trauma-focused cognitive therapy in routine care.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2024Article
- Efficacy of a Brief Blended Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Program for the Treatment of Depression and Anxiety in University Students: Uncontrolled Intervention Study.JMIR mental health · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAnxiety disorders are highly prevalent and cause substantial economic burden. Blended cognitive-behavioural therapy (bCBT), which integrates Internet-based CBT and face-to-face CBT (ftfCBT), is an attractive and potentially cost-saving treatment alternative to conventional CBT for patients with anxiety disorders in specialised mental health care. However, little is known about the effectiveness of bCBT in routine care. We examined the acceptability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of bCBT versus ftfCBT in outpatient specialised care to patients with panic disorder, social anxiety disorder and generalised anxiety disorder. METHODS AND
findingsPatients with anxiety disorders were randomised to bCBT (n = 52) or ftfCBT (n = 62). Acceptability of bCBT and ftfCBT were evaluated by assessing treatment preference, adherence, satisfaction and therapeutic alliance. Costs and effects were assessed at post-treatment and one-year follow-up. Primary outcome measure was the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Secondary outcomes were depressive symptoms, general psychopathology, work and social adjustment, quality of life and mastery. Incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were computed from societal and healthcare perspectives by calculating the incremental costs per incremental quality-adjusted life year (QALY). No significant differences between bCBT and ftfCBT were found on acceptability or effectiveness measures at post-treatment (Cohen's d between-group effect size on BAI = 0.15, 95% CI -0.30 to 0.60) or at one-year follow-up (d = -0.38, 95% CI -0.84 to 0.09). The modelled point estimates of societal costs (bCBT €10945, ftfCBT €10937) were higher and modelled point estimates of direct medical costs (bCBT €3748, ftfCBT €3841) were lower in bCBT. The acceptability curves showed that bCBT was expected to be a cost-effective intervention. Results should be carefully interpreted due to the small sample size.
conclusionsbCBT appears an acceptable, clinically effective and potentially cost-saving alternative option for treating patients with anxiety disorders. Trials with larger samples are needed to further investigate cost-effectiveness.
trial registrationNetherlands Trial Register: NTR4912.
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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.