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Dropout from individual psychotherapy for major depression: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials
Abstract
Dropout from mental health treatment poses a substantial problem, but rates vary substantially across studies and diagnoses. Focused reviews are needed to provide more detailed estimates for specific areas of research. Randomized clinical trials involving individual psychotherapy for unipolar depression are ubiquitous and important, but empirical data on average dropout rates from these studies is lacking. We conducted a random-effects meta-analysis of 54 such studies (N=5852) including 80 psychotherapy conditions, and evaluated a number of predictors of treatment- and study-level dropout rates. Our overall weighted dropout estimates were 19.9% at the study level, and 17.5% for psychotherapy conditions specifically. Therapy orientation did not significantly account for variance in dropout estimates, but estimates were significantly higher in psychotherapy conditions with more patients of minority racial status or with comorbid personality disorders. Treatment duration was also positively associated with dropout rates at trend level. Studies with an inactive control comparison had higher dropout rates than those without such a condition. Limitations include the inability to test certain potential predictors (e.g., socioeconomic status) due to infrequent reporting. Overall, our findings suggest the need to consider how specific patient and study characteristics may influence dropout rates in clinical research on individual therapy for depression.
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“A more focused meta-analysis reviewing only individual psychotherapy for major depression found a similar drop-out rate of 19.9% (Cooper & Conklin, 2015).”
From Acceptability and Feasibility of an Intervention to Enhance Social Group Belonging: Evidence From Three Trials of Groups 4 Health (2022) · cites this paper as Cooper & Conklin, 2015
In the citing paper
“First, Copper and Conklin found an increased attrition risk of 23.5% from trials involving an inactive control condition (which is relevant to Phases I and II of our data here).”
From Acceptability and Feasibility of an Intervention to Enhance Social Group Belonging: Evidence From Three Trials of Groups 4 Health (2022) · cites this paper as Cooper & Conklin, 2015
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Items 101–200 of 261
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BackgroundMethodInfluentialUptake, Adherence, and Attrition in Clinical Trials of Depression and Anxiety Apps
Liu, C., Torous, J. B., Fuller‐Tyszkiewicz, M., Messer, M., Anderson, C., Soliman, O. M., & Linardon, J. (2025) · JAMA Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2025.3439 · Cited by 28
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“According to a meta-analysis of RCTs by Cooper & Conklin [60], the mean dropout rate in treatment of MDD is 17.5% They It is also lower than in the study by Meganck et al. [20], where 23% of patients dropped out before receiving four or less therapy sessions (CBT: 9%, STPP: 14%).”
InfluentialGellert, P. R., Beyer, A.-K., Tegeler, C., Vathke, C., Nordheim, J., Kuhlmey, A., & Kessler, E. (2020) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-020-01661-1 · Cited by 13
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“Rates of dropout from psychological treatment are typically estimated at 20–35% (Cooper & Conklin, 2015; Roos & Werbart, 2013; Swift & Greenberg, 2012).”
BackgroundHuang, Z., Guo, W., & Martin, J. T. (2023) · JOR Spine · doi:10.1002/jsp2.1248 · Cited by 12
“Previously, a meta-analysis of 54 studies (5852 subjects) showed that individuals with higher levels of depression were more likely to dropout of RCTs.40 These results should be taken into consideration when designing longitudinal studies that target depression and LBP. Predicting and preventing long-term LBP remains…”
BackgroundNew directions in male-tailored psychotherapy for depression
Eggenberger, L., Ehlert, U., & Walther, A. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1146078 · Cited by 12
“In an online randomized controlled investigation for a maletailored psychoeducation for MDD, Walther and Eggenberger (2022) examined 152 men who experienced psychological distress (2022).”
BackgroundInfluentialDay, C., Briskman, J., Crawford, M., Foote, L., Harris, L., Boadu, J., McCrone, P., McMurran, M., Michelson, D., Moran, P., et al. (2020) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033637 · Cited by 11
Meganck, R., Desmet, M., Nieuwenhove, K. V., Smet, M. D., Hennissen, V., Truijens, F., Geest, R. D., Hermans, G., Bockting, C., Norman, U. A., et al. (2023) · Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics · doi:10.1159/000531643 · Cited by 8
Chin, S., Lim, K., Yap, C. K., & Wong, M. (2019) · Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine · doi:10.4103/ijpsym.ijpsym_442_18 · Cited by 11
“Ironically, it may be the pessimism which depressed patients characteristically experience that often obstructs their own treatment adherence and recovery.([17,18]) Reasons for nonadherence to an early termination of treatment includes negative beliefs about antidepressants (e.”
BackgroundThe Therapeutic Collaboration in Dropout Cases of Narrative Therapy: An Exploratory Study
Pinto, D., Sousa, I., Pinheiro, A., Freitas, A. C., & Ribeiro, E. (2018) · Revista de Psicoterapia · doi:10.33898/rdp.v29i110.209 · Cited by 11
“The most recent meta-analysis on psychotherapy dropout (Cooper & Conklin, 2015) found a dropout rate of approximately 20%, meaning that one out of five clients of psychotherapy do abandon it prematurely, most of them before achieving their goals and experiencing a significant relief from their…”
Day, C., Briskman, J., Crawford, M., Foote, L., Harris, L., Boadu, J., McCrone, P., McMurran, M., Michelson, D., Moran, P., et al. (2020) · Health Technology Assessment · doi:10.3310/hta24140 · Cited by 11
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“Moreover, patients randomized to complete the functional therapy-‐fasting-‐mimicking diet program demon- strated good compliance and rarely dropped out, which aligns with reported dropout rates of approximately 20% in recent similar studies (Cooper & Conklin, 2015; Zilcha-‐Mano et al., 2016).”
ResultThe Influence of Implicit Theories of Depression on Treatment-Relevant Attitudes
Zimmermann, M., Hmaidan, R., Preiser, B., & Papa, A. (2020) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-020-10120-5 · Cited by 8
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Ezawa, I. D., & Strunk, D. R. (2021) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-021-10254-0 · Cited by 13
Clough, B. A., Yousif, C., Miles, S., Stillerova, S., Ganapathy, A., & Casey, L. M. (2022) · Journal of Clinical Psychology · doi:10.1002/jclp.23342 · Cited by 12
“In comparison, face‐to‐face drop rates for depression treatment have been estimated to range from 0% to 50% (Cooper & Conklin, 2015; Wierzbicki & Pekarik, 1993).”
BackgroundDrake, C. L., Kalmbach, D. A., Cheng, P., Ahmedani, B. K., Peterson, E. L., Joseph, C. L. M., Roth, T. G., Kidwell, K., & Sagong, C. (2022) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-022-06850-4 · Cited by 10
Ramondo, N., Pestell, C., Byrne, S. M., & Gignac, G. E. (2024) · International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis · doi:10.1080/00207144.2024.2354722 · Cited by 14
“Our results were achieved with a treatment sample and therapy dose that were similar to other CBT group therapy studies (McDermut et al., 2001), and our drop-out rate of 16% compared favorably with the literature (Cooper & Conklin, 2015).”
ResultZainal, N. H., Benjet, C. L., Albor, Y., Núñez-Delgado, M. J., Cruz, R. Z., Contreras‐Ibáñez, C. C., Cudris–Torres, L., de la Peña, F. R., González, N., Guerrero-López, B., et al. (2025) · International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1002/mpr.70005 · Cited by 9
A meta-analytic review of cognitive processing therapy with and without the written account
Sager, J. C., DeJesus, C. R., Kearns, J. C., Thompson‐Hollands, J., Trendel, S. L., Marx, B. P., & Sloan, D. M. (2025) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2025.102976 · Cited by 14
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Development and Validation of the Treatment Attrition-Retention Scale for Personality Disorders
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Große, J., Huppertz, C., Röh, A., Oertel, V., Andresen, S., Schade, N., Goerke-Arndt, F., Kastinger, A., Schoofs, N., Thomann, P. A., et al. (2023) · European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience · doi:10.1007/s00406-023-01646-2 · Cited by 9
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“…utility, due to the high non-response and drop-out rates for psychotherapy among depressed patients (De Maat et al., 2007; Hans and Hiller, 2013; Cooper and Conklin, 2015), it is crucial to take into account individual idiosyncrasies to develop better personalized treatments for patients with…”
InfluentialGellert, P. R., Lech, S., Hoppmann, F., O’Sullivan, J. L., & Kessler, E. (2024) · Clinical Gerontologist · doi:10.1080/07317115.2024.2353702 · Cited by 7
“While 20% of drop out is common in psychotherapy trials for older adults (e.g. (Cooper & Conklin, 2015)), considering the vulnerability of our sample, we planned to collect further participants beyond the estimated number.”
Mellado, A., Suárez, N., Gloger, S., Pérez, C., Dagnino, P., & Krause, M. (2018) · Psykhe (Santiago) · doi:10.7764/psykhe.27.2.1137 · Cited by 7
Predictors of CBT-pretreatment intervention engagement and completion: Evidence for peer support.
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Esketamine Nasal Spray for Treatment-Resistant Depression
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Advances in Drug Discovery and Development in Geriatric Psychiatry
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Selinheimo, S., Gluschkoff, K., Kausto, J., Turunen, J., & Väänänen, A. (2023) · Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research · doi:10.1007/s10488-023-01305-7 · Cited by 6
“To conclude, the vast majority of studies have not reported socioeconomic factors of study completers and drop-outs in psychotherapy research (Cooper & Conklin, 2015 ; Swift & Greenberg, 2012 ), which makes it challenging to evaluate whether socioeconomic factors influence treatment implementation.”
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Barlati, S., Nibbio, G., Bellomo, A., Carpiniello, B., Colombo, C., Giorgi, S. D., Deste, G., Maina, G., Martinotti, G., Tortorella, A. A. V., et al. (2025) · European Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/j.eurpsy.2025.10073 · Cited by 7
“…showed a good feasibility profile, with a dropout rate of 13.5%: this is in line with that of other evidence-based psychosocial interventions for MDD [50, 51], as well as with that of CR interventions delivered to individuals with other diagnoses, such as Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorders [52].”
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Leung, W. K. C., Lam, S. C., Chan, B. C. L., Chow, J. N. L., Wong, Y. Y. Y., Ng, F., Yip, C. C. K., & Chan, A. C. K. (2026) · BMJ Health & Care Informatics · doi:10.1136/bmjhci-2025-101479 · Cited by 7
Stephenson, C., Moghimi, E., Shao, Y., Kumar, A., Yee, C. S., Miller, S., Stefatos, A., Gholamzadehmir, M., Abbaspour, Z., Jagayat, J., et al. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1194955 · Cited by 6
Desarrollo de un instrumento culturalmente pertinente para medir creencias en psicoterapia
Salinas-Oñate, N., Ortíz, M. S., Baeza-Rivera, M. J., & Betancourt, H. M. (2017) · Terapia psicológica · doi:10.4067/s0718-48082017000100002 · Cited by 6
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“Again, a meta-analytic investigation suggests similar dropout rates in men and women attending individual psychotherapy for MDD (Cooper & Conklin, 2015).”
McChrystal, R., Lees, J. S., Gillies, K., McAllister, D., & Hanlon, P. (2025) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-025-08794-x · Cited by 5
Kanamori, S., Imamura, K., Inagawa, Y., Yamauchi, T., Ikeda, H., Okuyama, T., Muto, G., Kato, R., Mako, I. I. D. A., Asaoka, H., et al. (2025) · Journal of Occupational Health · doi:10.1093/joccuh/uiaf035 · Cited by 5
“11 These rates were slightly higher compared with the results from meta-analyses of face-to-face therapies, which reported attrition rates of 19.9% for individual psychotherapy for depression 12 and 17.0% for anxiety disorders.”
InfluentialHayward, D., Richardson, T. H., Beattie, D., & Bayliss, P. (2023) · Journal of EMDR Practice and Research · doi:10.1891/emdr-2023-0004 · Cited by 5
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“However, if the intervention period is too long, the dropout rate and the risk of being affected by other distributing factors may likely increase (33,34) .”
Reconsidering what makes syntheses of psychological intervention studies useful
Sakaluk, J. K., Santis, C. D., Kilshaw, R. E., Pittelkow, M.-M., Brandes, C. M., Boness, C. L., Botanov, Y., Williams, A. J., Wendt, D. C., Lorenzo‐Luaces, L., et al. (2023) · Nature Reviews Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44159-023-00213-9 · Cited by 5
Zhao, F.-Y., Xu, P., Zheng, Z., Conduit, R., Xu, Y., Yue, L.-P., Wang, H., Wang, Y., Li, Y., Li, C., et al. (2023) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1288346 · Cited by 5
Vibin, A. J., Niharika, N., Valliappan, V., Lamo, P., Parajuli, N., Jat, M. S., Lama, S., Agarwal, A., Sagar, R., & Sharma, G. (2024) · International Journal of Social Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/00207640231223431 · Cited by 6
“…limited efficacy, and poor compliance with dropout rates ranging from 20% to 47%, because of the associated adverse effects (Arnow et al., 2007; Cooper & Conklin, 2015; Kolovos et al., 2017; Mohr et al., 2006; Sharf, 2009; Simon & Ludman, 2010), whereas the dropout rate in the lifestyle…”
BackgroundRigsby, B. A., Miller, R. L., Moran, M. J., Rzonca, A. J., Najman, J. I., Adams, M. S., Prince, M. A., & Lucas‐Thompson, R. G. (2024) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph21081030 · Cited by 5
“Factors contributing to indices of treatment adherence, such as dropout, have been explored, and several therapist-, client, and treatment-related variables have been ruled out as significant predictors [44,45].”
BackgroundO’Keeffe, S., Suzuki, M., Ryan, M. T., Priebe, S., Byng, R., Simpson, A., Araújo‐Soares, V., Albert, R., Fialho, R., Walker, N., et al. (2025) · Pilot and Feasibility Studies · doi:10.1186/s40814-025-01602-y · Cited by 5
“Each year, approximately 220,000 episodes of self-harm by 150,000 people are managed by emergency departments (EDs) in England [5].”
Berg, M., Suchotzki, K., Zimmermann, J., Merz, C. J., Szota, K., Brandt, H., Hartwigsen, G., Lincoln, T. M., Mokros, A., Gade, M., et al. (2025) · European Psychologist · doi:10.1027/1016-9040/a000555 · Cited by 4
“While psychotherapy is demonstrably effective, current evidence-based approaches still struggle with considerable patient dropout (Cooper & Conklin, 2015 ), subgroups of patients deteriorating under treatment (Cuijpers et al., 2018 ), and with notable relapse rates (Levy et al., 2021 ; Otte, 2008 ).”
Kvam, T.-M., Goksøyr, I. W., Rog, J., van de Vooren, I.-T. J., Stewart, L. H., Autran, I., Berthold‐Losleben, M., Mørch-Johnsen, L. E., Holst, R., Røssberg, J. I., et al. (2025) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2025.11.030 · Cited by 4
Jones, F., Timulák, L., Keogh, D., Chigwedere, C., Wilson, C. E., & Ward, F. (2024) · Person-Centered & Experiential Psychotherapies · doi:10.1080/14779757.2024.2335383 · Cited by 4
“Another study similarly reported a positive relationship between personality disorders and dropouts (Cooper & Conklin, 2015), while others have found no evidence of such an association (Goddard et al., 2015; Snoek et al., 2021).”
Who Benefits from Acute Psychiatric Home Treatment? A Systematic Review
Bergamaschi, V., Baumann, F., Warnke, I., Corbisiero, S., Ludwig, F., Riedel, A., Felleiter, K. G., & Schmidt, S. J. (2024) · Community Mental Health Journal · doi:10.1007/s10597-024-01297-0 · Cited by 4
“…younger age, unemployment, belonging to an ethnic minority, being single, and being diagnosed with a personality disorder were associated with poorer treatment outcomes of psychological treatment in an outpatient setting (Cooper & Conklin, 2015; Delgadillo et al., 2016; Lutz et al., 2021).”
BackgroundHongler, K., Lounici, A., Maurer, E., Lanz, U., Szathmári, O., Reuter, Y., Nussbaum, S., Steinborn, I., Haedrich, A., Mölling, M. A., et al. (2024) · NeuroImmunoModulation · doi:10.1159/000542979 · Cited by 6
“Considering dropout rates, typically around 20% for behavioral interventions [72, 73], 30% for drug treatments [74 – 76], and up to 35% for short-term ( ≤ 3 months) ketogenic diet interventions [77], a fi nal sample size estimation of 43 participants per treatment arm, or a total of n = 86…”
Time-intensive behavioural activation for depression: A multiple baseline study
Miles, S., Brown, G. P., Corfe, A., Hallett, C., Wingrove, J., Wheatley, J., & Veale, D. M. (2018) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2018.12.008 · Cited by 4
Plys, E., Morrow, C. D., Portz, J. D., Jones, C. D., Piper, C., & Boxer, R. S. (2021) · Rehabilitation Psychology · doi:10.1037/rep0000383 · Cited by 4
Dropout in brief psychotherapy for major depressive disorder: Randomized clinical trial
Machado, R. D. S., Vieira, I. S., Mondin, T. C., Scaini, C. R., Molina, M. L., Jansen, K., Souza, L. D. D. M., Duarte, M. R., Simjanoski, M., & da Silva, R. A. (2021) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.2693 · Cited by 4
Simon, N. A., Evans, J., Bispham, D., Williams, F., Jones, J., Roberts, N. P., & Waters, C. S. (2025) · Depression and Anxiety · doi:10.1155/da/3698331 · Cited by 5
“More broadly, dropout rates of 26.2 % have been reported across CBT studies with child and adult populations [88], 17.5 % across RCTs of psychotherapy for depression [89], and 16 % across RCTs of psychological therapies for PTSD [90].”
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Readiness for treatment predicts depression outcomes in a partial hospital program.
McCarthy, J. M., Hudson, J. I., Carol, E. E., Kuller, A. M., Ramadurai, R., Björgvinsson, Þ., & Beard, C. (2024) · Psychological Services · doi:10.1037/ser0000835 · Cited by 3
Philip, J. S., & Maimon, M. R. (2023) · Psi Chi Journal of Psychological Research · doi:10.24839/2325-7342.jn28.1.67 · Cited by 3
“Additionally, future longitudinal research should examine the retention of racial/ethnic minority clients in therapy with therapists of different identities, as racial/ethnic minority individuals are more likely to drop out of treatment prematurely than White individuals (Cooper & Conklin, 2015).”
Kemna, S., Bringmann, M., Karnouk, C., Hoell, A., Tschorn, M., Kamp‐Becker, I., Padberg, F., Übleis, A., Hasan, A., Falkai, P., et al. (2024) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291724003179 · Cited by 3
“Dropout rates from psychotherapy studies have been estimated to be at around 20% (Cooper & Conklin, 2015).”
Budge, S. L., Tebbe, E. A., Lee, J., Domínguez, S., Matsuno, E. G., & Lindley, L. M. (2025) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/64477 · Cited by 3
Couple variables predicting retention in a brief intervention and research
Mitchell, E. A., Roberson, P. N. E., Amer, Z., Garcia, D. J., Córdova, J. V., & Gordon, K. C. (2022) · Family Process · doi:10.1111/famp.12783 · Cited by 3
Men’s Psychotherapy Dropout is Associated with Conformity to Traditional Masculinity IdeologiesPreprint
Schneeberger, M., Ehlert, U., Eggenberger, L., Seidler, Z. E., Wilson, M., Fisher, K., & Walther, A. (2023) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/afbd6 · Cited by 3
Ward, M., & Zimmerman, M. (2022) · Annals of Clinical Psychiatry · doi:10.12788/acp.0062 · Cited by 2
“5,6 Premature treatment termination includes patients who have unilaterally decided to discontinue treatment before the problems for which they sought treatment improve, as well as patients who are unable to continue treatment due to external circumstances.”
Cao, Q., Du, X., Ruiz, F. J., sierra, M. A., Yu, X., & Ren, Z. (2025) · General Hospital Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2025.09.006 · Cited by 2
Sağbaş, S., Korkmaz, Ş. A., & Öyekçin, D. G. (2025) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.70165 · Cited by 5
Pozuelo, J. R., Vigo, D., Kazdin, A. E., Harris, M., Stein, D. J., Viana, M. C., Hwang, I. H., Kessler, T. L., Manoukian, S. M., Sampson, N. A., et al. (2025) · International Journal of Mental Health Systems · doi:10.1186/s13033-025-00686-6 · Cited by 2
“More-over, many patients who obtain care discontinue pre-maturely [19–22], while those who complete treatment often receive care that falls short of adequate standards [15, 23–27].”
Mikola, T., Lehto, S. M., Tolmunen, T., Honkalampi, K. M., Valkonen‐Korhonen, M., Laukkanen, V., Pakarinen, M., Koivumaa-Honkanen, H. T., & Ruusunen, A. A. (2026) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2026.121709 · Cited by 2
Tiba, A., Drugas, M. I., Sîrbu, I., Trip, S., Bora, C. H., & Voss, L. (2026) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.brat.2026.105025 · Cited by 2
Barney, E., Treby, E., Johannes, G., & Seymour, K. (2024) · The Police Journal Theory Practice and Principles · doi:10.1177/0032258x241228493 · Cited by 2
“Thedrop-out rate for this study was 14.2%, which is lower than previous studies in research with police of fi cers at around 20% (Fitzhugh et al., 2019), and lower to clinical samples in the psychotherapy literature which are around 17% (Cooper and Conklin, 2015).”
InfluentialPettitt, A., Nelson, B. W., Forman‐Hoffman, V. L., Goldin, P. R., & Peiper, N. C. (2024) · Psychology and Psychotherapy Theory Research and Practice · doi:10.1111/papt.12517 · Cited by 3
Martins, D. S., Bermúdez, M. B., Costa, M. D. A., Fleck, M. P., Salum, G. A., Dreher, C. B., & Manfro, G. G. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-81327-9 · Cited by 3
Predictors of dropout from TMS for treatment resistant depression
Hickson, R., Huynh, K., Aly, L. B., Yesavage, J. A., Philip, N. S., Kozel, F. A., & Madore, M. R. (2025) · Transcranial magnetic stimulation . · doi:10.1016/j.transm.2025.100085 · Cited by 2
Dinse, H., Skoda, E., Schweda, A., Jansen, C., Schmidt, K., Konik, M., Rohn, H., Witzke, O., Stettner, M., Kleinschnitz, C., et al. (2025) · Trials · doi:10.1186/s13063-025-08842-6 · Cited by 2
“Based on Cooper and Conklin, we assume a non-negligible dropout rate [40].”
Early attrition among suicidal clients
Surgenor, P. W. G., Meehan, V., & Moore, A. (2016) · British Journal of Guidance and Counselling · doi:10.1080/03069885.2015.1134766 · Cited by 2
“The current lack of knowledge and associated risk of early therapy attrition for suicidal clients has been highlighted in recent research (Cooper & Conklin, 2015).”
BackgroundMethodProspective study of variables associated with nonadherence to psychotherapy
Acosta, F. J., Ramallo‐Fariña, Y., Ruiz, L., Gómez, S., Hernández, A. N. G., Quesada, I., Lastra, C., & Calviño, M. J. (2019) · Journal of Mental Health · doi:10.1080/09638237.2019.1581346 · Cited by 3
Evaluation of a decision aid for the treatment of depression among college students
Rogojanski, J., Zeifman, R. J., Antony, M. M., Walker, J. R., Monson, C. M., & and Mobilizing Minds Research Group (2020) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2020.1817034 · Cited by 2
“Furthermore, studies indicate that there are high dropout rates from both psychological and medication treatments for depression that interfere with treatment effectiveness.(9,10) Thus, the needs of individuals suffering from depression are not being adequately met.”
BackgroundRushia, S. N., Schiff, S., Egglefield, D. A., Motter, J. N., Grinberg, A., Saldana, D. G., Shehab, A. A. S., Fan, J., & Sneed, J. R. (2020) · Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science · doi:10.20900/jpbs.20200014 · Cited by 2
“05, two-tailed) with 20% attrition (a reasonable estimate based on our previous study [60] and consistent with dropout rates in psychotherapy RCTs [102]) would require a total sample of 195 or 65 per group.”
MethodInfluentialHoman, J. (2000) · doi:10.15760/etd.7210 · Cited by 2
Easpaig, B. N. G., Zhai, J., Gray, R. J., Brown, E., & Bressington, D. T. (2022) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2022-060863 · Cited by 1
Shi, C., Wu, Y. H., Wei, H., Xiao, Y., Lv, X., & Ren, Z. (2024) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.3064 · Cited by 1
Chen, C., Liu, M., Huang, Y., Qian, L., Zhou, Z., & Wei, L. (2025) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.70138 · Cited by 1
Owens, M., Houghton, C., Beattie, P., & Bunce, H. L. I. (2025) · Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.3390/bs15081096 · Cited by 1
“For example, inactive control arms are associated with significantly higher rates of attrition compared to psychological placebos (Cooper & Conklin, 2015).”
McChrystal, R., Hanlon, P., Lees, J. S., Phillippo, D., Welton, N. J., Gillies, K., & McAllister, D. (2025) · Journal of Clinical Epidemiology · doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2025.111971 · Cited by 1
Wang, Y., Cheval, B., Hutchinson, J., Heath, M. D., Gerber, M., Lowe, C. J., Herold, F., & Zou, L. (2025) · International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1080/1612197x.2025.2563306 · Cited by 1
“Given an expected attrition rate of 20% owing to dropouts and loss of data (Cooper & Conklin, 2015), a final sample of 61 participants was recruited.”
Taccini, F., Rossi, A. A., & Mannarini, S. (2025) · Journal of Family Violence · doi:10.1007/s10896-025-00828-x · Cited by 2
Psychotherapists’ Discursive Constructions of Culture and Cultural Conversations in Therapy
Depauw, H., Bracke, P., de Putte, B. V., & Ceuterick, M. (2026) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/10497323261417533 · Cited by 1
Transforming psychological practice with precision mental health: introduction to the NOVA project
Roca, P., Noheda, S., Ramírez-Riveros, E., Martín-Azañedo, C., Martínez‐Zaragoza, F., Zangri, R. M., del Valle, E. P. G., Sanchez-Pedreño, M., León‐García, M., Gravholt, D. L., et al. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1775489 · Cited by 2
“Therefore, therapy non-completion (i.e., unilateral termination of therapy by the patient) remains a significant issue, with dropout rates estimated at around 30–40% (Cooper and Conklin, 2015).”
Eicher, S., Fenski, F., Behr, S., Hammelrath, L., Boettcher, J., Schaeuffele, C., & Knaevelsrud, C. (2026) · npj Digital Medicine · doi:10.1038/s41746-026-02546-0 · Cited by 1
Relational complexity and conflict in psychotherapy
Haslam, N. (2026) · Theory and Society · doi:10.1007/s11186-026-09711-0 · Cited by 1
“This expectation accords with the finding that patients with personality disorders drop out of therapy at high rates (Cooper & Conklin, 2015).”
Yaşar, A. B., & Gündüz, A. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1748511 · Cited by 1
“Even in the most rigorously controlled research settings — with carefully selected, relatively uncomplicated patient samples — psychotherapy dropout rates average 15 – 20% (5, 6) and vary dramatically by condition, from approximately 16% for PTSD to over 50% for personality disorders (7, 8).”
Metadata
- Authors
- Cooper, A. A., & Conklin, L. R.
- Affiliations
- Case Western Reserve University (US)
- Boston University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cooper, Andrew A.
- Venue
- Clinical Psychology Review
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2015-08
- Volume
- 40
- Pages
- 57-65
- ISSN
- 0272-7358 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W243214355
- Cited by
- 264
- References
- 56
- Citations by year
- 2026: 35 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 30 · 2022: 29 · 2021: 24 · 2020: 25 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 18 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 4
- FWCI
- 2.23
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Clinical Psychology Review (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- treatment discontinuation, individual psychotherapy, major depressive disorder, predictors of dropout, personality disorders, treatment duration, psychotherapy research
- MeSH terms
- Major Depressive Disorder, Humans, Patient Dropouts, Psychotherapy, Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
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