Self‐administered treatments for depression: a review
Abstract
Although there are numerous self‐help books for depression, relatively few have been empirically tested. However, those that have been used in clinical trials have fared well, with an average effect size roughly equivalent to the average effect size obtained in psychotherapy studies. Computer‐based treatments are being developed and appear promising as an alternative to bibliotherapy for those interested in self‐administered treatments. This article provides a summary of the depression bibliotherapy literature and discusses several remaining questions such as effectiveness versus efficacy, practice applications, ethics, and future research. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 59: 275–288, 2003.
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Self-help interventions for depression result in effect sizes considered to be roughly equivalent to those achieved by psychotherapy studies.
“A review conducted in 2003 concluded that self-help interventions for depression result in effect sizes considered to be roughly equivalent to those achieved by psychotherapy studies (McKendree-Smith et al., 2003).”
From Self-help interventions to reduce self-stigma in people with mental health problems: A systematic literature review (2020) · cites this paper as McKendree-Smith et al., 2003
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- Authors
- McKendree‐Smith, N. L., Floyd, M., & Scogin, F. R.
- Affiliations
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US)
- University of Alabama (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Clinical Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2003-02-10
- Volume
- 59
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 275-288
- ISSN
- 0021-9762 (ISSN-L)
- 1097-4679
- OpenAlex
- W2112610765
- Cited by
- 132
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 4.00
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Clinical Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Keywords
- depression, self-help, bibliotherapy, self-administered therapy, self-help books, treatment effectiveness, psychotherapy comparison
- MeSH terms
- Depressive Disorder, Humans, Patient Education as Topic, Self Care, Software, User-Computer Interface
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