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Cited by 91Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive ProcessesDigital Mental Health InterventionsPsychotherapy Techniques and Applications

A systematic review and meta-analysis of transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapies for emotional disorders

Open access
Schaeuffele, Carmen, Meine, Laura E., Schulz, Ava, Weber, Maxi C., Moser, Angela, Paersch, Christina, Recher, Dominique, Boettcher, Johanna +3 more·2024·Nature Human Behaviour
DOI 10.1038/s41562-023-01787-3PMC PMC10963275
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Abstract

Transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural psychotherapy (TD-CBT) may facilitate the treatment of emotional disorders. Here we investigate short- and long-term efficacy of TD-CBT for emotional disorders in individual, group and internet-based settings in randomized controlled trials (PROSPERO CRD42019141512). Two independent reviewers screened results from PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Google Scholar, medRxiv and OSF Preprints published between January 2000 and June 2023, selected studies for inclusion, extracted data and evaluated risk of bias (Cochrane risk-of-bias tool 2.0). Absolute efficacy from pre- to posttreatment and relative efficacy between TD-CBT and control treatments were investigated with random-effects models. Of 56 identified studies, 53 (6,705 participants) were included in the meta-analysis. TD-CBT had larger effects on depression (g = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.57-0.92, P < 0.001) and anxiety (g = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.56-0.97, P < 0.001) than did controls. Across treatment formats, TD-CBT was superior to waitlist and treatment-as-usual. TD-CBT showed comparable effects to disorder-specific CBT and was superior to other active treatments for depression but not for anxiety. Different treatment formats showed comparable effects. TD-CBT was superior to controls at 3, 6 and 12 months but not at 24 months follow-up. Studies were heterogeneous in design and methodological quality. This review and meta-analysis strengthens the evidence for TD-CBT as an efficacious treatment for emotional disorders in different settings.

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  • Transdiagnostic psychotherapies are effective for depression and anxiety and are increasingly favored by the clinical community.

    “Transdiagnostic psychotherapies are effective for depression and anxiety and are increasingly favored by the clinical community, as these psychotherapies target the shared symptoms, causes, and maintaining factors of co-occurring disorders, such as depression and anxiety [8-11].”

    From Needs and Expectations for the myNewWay Blended Digital and Face-to-Face Psychotherapy Model of Care for Depression and Anxiety (Part 2): Participatory Design Study including Mental Health Professionals (2025) · cites this paper as [8]

    The Results (Meta-analysis; page not provided) show that transdiagnostic CBT reduced depression and anxiety symptoms more than controls in adults. The Discussion reports increased research attention and uptake in group and internet-based settings, but does not establish that these therapies are increasingly favored by the clinical community. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • Meta-analytic results in adult samples suggest that transdiagnostic Internet interventions targeting co-occurring subclinical symptoms of anxiety and depression can be as effective as diagnosis-specific interventions in improving the primary clinical diagnosis and comorbidity.

    “Meta-analytic results in adult samples suggest that transdiagnostic Internet interventions targeting co-occurring subclinical symptoms of anxiety and depression can be as effective as diagnosis-specific interventions in improving the primary clinical diagnosis and comorbidity [74–76].”

    From Efficacy of a transdiagnostic Internet prevention approach in adolescents (EMPATIA study): study protocol of a randomized controlled trial (2024) · cites this paper as [76]

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  • The results are in line with meta-analysis studies demonstrating effectiveness of transdiagnostic interventions for emotional disorders in group format.

    “These results are in line with meta-analysis studies demonstrating the effectiveness of transdiagnostic interventions for ED in group format (Cuijpers et al., 2023; Schaeuffele et al., 2024).”

    From Feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a blended transdiagnostic group CBT for the treatment of emotional disorders (2025) · cites this paper as Schaeuffele et al., 2024

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  1. [25]Beck, A. T., Steer, R. A. & Brown, G. K. BDI-II: Manual (Pearson PsychCorp, 1996).
  2. [27]Saed, O., Arani, A. M., Taremian, F., Bakhtyari, M. & Morsali, Y. The efficacy of transdiagnostic cognitive behavior therapy on reducing symptoms severity of obsessive compulsive disorder with co-occurring anxiety and mood disorders. Int. J. Appl. Behav. Sci.2, 11 (2015).
  3. [47]Mennin, D. S. & Fresco, D. M. in Handbook of Emotion Regulation 2nd edn (ed. Gross, J. J.) 469–490 (The Guilford Press, 2014).
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Authors
Schaeuffele, C., Meine, L. E., Schulz, A., Weber, M. C., Moser, A., Paersch, C., Recher, D., Boettcher, J., Renneberg, B., Flückiger, C., & Kleim, B.
Affiliations
  • Freie Universität Berlin (DE)
  • University of Zurich (CH)
  • University of Bern (CH)
  • Psychologische Hochschule Berlin (DE)
  • University of Kassel (DE)
Corresponding author
  • Schaeuffele, Carmen
  • Meine, Laura E.
ORCID
Venue
Nature Human Behaviour
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2024-01-16
Volume
8
Issue
3
Pages
493-509
ISSN
2397-3374 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/s41562-023-01787-3
PMC
PMC10963275
OpenAlex
W4390918459
Cited by
91
References
110
Citations by year
2026: 32 · 2025: 38 · 2024: 21
FWCI
6.71
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Nature Human Behaviour (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Refubium (Universitätsbibliothek der Freien Universität Berlin) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • BORIS (University Library Bern) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Universitätsbibliothek der FU Berlin Hochschulschriftenstelle u. Dokumentenserver (cc-by)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
Funders
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (169827)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Digital Mental Health Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
Keywords
transdiagnostic cognitive behavioural therapy, emotional disorders, depression, anxiety, treatment efficacy, online therapy, group therapy, long-term follow-up, waitlist control
MeSH terms
Anxiety Disorders, Humans, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

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