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Cited by 52Psychotherapy Techniques and ApplicationsMental Health Treatment and AccessPsychological Treatments and Disorders

Patient experiences of psychological therapy for depression: a qualitative metasynthesis

Open access
McPherson, Susan, Wicks, Claire, Tercelli, Ilaria·2020·BMC Psychiatry
DOI 10.1186/s12888-020-02682-1PMC PMC7302137
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Globally, national guidelines for depression have prioritised evidence from randomised controlled trials and quantitative meta-analyses, omitting qualitative research concerning patient experience of treatments. A review of patient experience research can provide a comprehensive overview of this important form of evidence and thus enable the voices and subjectivities of those affected by depression to have an impact on the treatments and services they are offered. This review aims to seek a comprehensive understanding of patient experiences of psychological therapies for depression using a systematic and rigorous approach to review and synthesis of qualitative research. METHOD: PsychINFO, PsychARTICLES, MEDLINE, and CINAHL were searched for published articles using a qualitative approach to examine experiences of psychological therapies for depression. All types of psychological therapy were included irrespective of model or modes of delivery (e.g. remote or in person; group or individual). Each article was assessed following guidance provided by the Critical Appraisal Skill Programme tool. Articles were entered in full into NVIVO and themes were extracted and synthesized following inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Thirty-seven studies, representing 671 patients were included. Three main themes are described; the role of therapy features and setting; therapy processes and how they impact on outcomes; and therapy outcomes (benefits and limitations). Subthemes are described within these themes and include discussion of what works and what's unhelpful; issues integrating therapy with real life; patient preferences and individual difference; challenges of undertaking therapy; influence of the therapist; benefits of therapy; limits of therapy and what happens when therapy ends. CONCLUSIONS: Findings point to the importance of common factors in psychotherapies; highlight the need to assess negative outcomes; and indicate the need for patients to be more involved in discussions and decisions about therapy, including tailoring therapy to individual needs and taking social and cultural contexts into account.

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  • Group therapy might be especially beneficial among adolescents as it facilitates togetherness and belonging to peers, which are crucial developmental tasks for this age group.

    “Group therapy might also be especially beneficial among adolescents as it facilitates togetherness and belonging to peers, which are crucial developmental tasks for this age group”

    From “And I Can Remind Myself That I Am All Of This”: adolescents’ experiences of group-based acceptance and commitment therapy (2024) · cites this paper as McPherson et al., 2020

    The Results (Therapy processes and how they impact on outcomes; page unavailable) report that group therapy provided social support and comfort through shared experiences. But the Methods (Eligibility criteria; page unavailable) state that studies of adolescents and children were excluded. The paper therefore does not support the claim that group therapy is especially beneficial for adolescents or that peer belonging is a crucial developmental task for them. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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  • Some challenges are associated with group therapy format, e.g., self-censoring and tailoring therapy to individual needs.

    “but some challenges are also associated with the format, e.g., self-censoring, tailoring therapy to individual needs, etc. (Gjesvik et al., 2018; McPherson et al., 2020).”

    From “And I Can Remind Myself That I Am All Of This”: adolescents’ experiences of group-based acceptance and commitment therapy (2024) · cites this paper as McPherson et al., 2020

    The Results section reports that group psychotherapy patients sometimes censored themselves when sharing problems. It also says therapy may need tailoring to individual needs, but discusses this across approaches or specifically for cognitive-behavioural approaches, not as a challenge particular to the group format. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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  • McPherson et al. (2020) reported that patients undergoing group psychotherapy for depression sometimes found it difficult to share their problems with the group, as they saw their problems as "minor" or "not permissible."

    “Similar findings were also reported by McPherson et al. (2020, p. 11), where patients undergoing group psychotherapy for depression sometimes found it difficult to share their problems with the group, as they saw their problems as “minor” or “not permissible.””

    From “And I Can Remind Myself That I Am All Of This”: adolescents’ experiences of group-based acceptance and commitment therapy (2024) · cites this paper as McPherson et al., 2020

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Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [1]National Institute for Health and Care Excellence Depression in adults: recognition and Depression in adults: recognition and management management Clinical guideline 2009 31990491

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Authors
McPherson, S., Wicks, C., & Tercelli, I.
Affiliations
University of Essex (GB)
Corresponding author
McPherson, Susan
ORCID
Venue
BMC Psychiatry
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2020-06-18
Volume
20
Issue
1
Pages
313-313
ISSN
1471-244X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12888-020-02682-1
PMC
PMC7302137
OpenAlex
W3035994701
Cited by
52
References
63
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 12 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 1
FWCI
2.20
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Psychiatry (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Open Access at Essex (University of Essex) (acceptedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Mental Health Treatment and Access
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychological Treatments and Disorders
Keywords
depression, psychotherapy, patient experience, common factors, therapist influence, patient preferences, individual differences, treatment outcomes, patient involvement in treatment decisions, cultural context of therapy
MeSH terms
Depression, Humans, Patients, Qualitative Research, Psychotherapy, Psychodynamic

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