Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41619247›Full record

ArticlePsychotherapy and psychosomatics2026

Blended Cognitive Behavioral Therapy versus Standard Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Unipolar Depression: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial.

Jan Kalde, Ece Atik, Johannes Stricker, Magnus Schückes, Peter Neudeck, Pamela Abel, Johanna Hollank, Andre Pittig, Reinhard Pietrowsky

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In one paragraph

Article in Psychotherapy and psychosomatics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Jan KaldeDepartment of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany, jan.kalde@hhu.de.
Ece AtikTranslational Psychotherapy, Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Johannes StrickerDepartment of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Magnus SchückesInstitute for SME Research and Entrepreneurship, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.
Peter NeudeckDepartment of Clinical Psychology, Technical University Chemnitz, Chemnitz, Germany.
Pamela AbelAVT-Akademie für Verhaltenstherapie, Cologne, Germany.
Johanna HollankMoVA Institut für Moderne Verhaltenstherapie, Hamburg, Germany.
Andre PittigTranslational Psychotherapy, Georg Elias Müller Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
Reinhard PietrowskyDepartment of Experimental Psychology, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionThis study evaluated the effectiveness of blended cognitive behavioral therapy (bCBT) with a digital health application (elona therapy) compared to standard cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for unipolar depression in outpatient care.

methodsThis multicenter, randomized, two-arm controlled trial recruited 283 adult patients with unipolar depression in Germany. Patients were randomized to receive either standard face-to-face CBT combined with the digital health application (bCBT group) or standard face-to-face CBT alone. Symptoms of depression and anxiety, along with other patient-related characteristics, were assessed at baseline (T0: week 0) and post-intervention (T1: week 12).

resultsPatients in the bCBT group showed greater improvements in depressive symptoms (primary outcome: d = 0.62, p < 0.001), anxiety (d = 0.61, p < 0.001), quality of life (d = 0.42, p < 0.001), perceived self-efficacy (d = 0.41, p = 0.003), depression literacy (d = 0.66, p < 0.001) and overall disease severity outcomes (d = 0.45-0.60, ps < 0.005) compared with patients in the CBT group.

conclusionThis study provides evidence supporting the effectiveness of bCBT in patients diagnosed with unipolar depressive disorder across a broad range of clinically relevant outcomes. The discussion addresses important limitations of this trial.

Indexed as

Blended cognitive behavioral therapyDepressionDigital interventionDigital therapeutics

Identifiers

PMID41619247
PMCPMC13008395

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.