Objective: The primary aim of this study was to assess the overall effectiveness of and dropout from individual and group outpatient cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for adults with a primary diagnosis of unipolar depressive disorder in routine clinical practice. Method: We conducted a random effects meta-analysis of 34 nonrandomized…

Objective: The present study quantitatively reviewed the literature on sudden gains in psychological treatments for anxiety and depression. The authors examined the short- and long-term effects of sudden gains on treatment outcome as well as moderators of these effects. Method: The authors conducted a literature search using PubMed, PsycINFO, the…

Objective: This study was designed to quantitatively evaluate the effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI) interventions for adolescent substance use behavior change. Method: Literature searches of electronic databases were undertaken in addition to manual reference searches of identified review articles. Databases searched include…

Objective: Motivational interviewing (MI) is a treatment approach that has been widely examined as an intervention for tobacco dependence and is recommended in clinical practice guidelines. Previous reviews evaluating the efficacy of MI for smoking cessation noted effects that were modest in magnitude but included few studies. The current study is…

Objective: At present, the most frequently investigated psychosocial intervention for borderline personality disorder (BPD) is dialectical behavior therapy (DBT). We conducted a meta-analysis to examine the efficacy and long-term effectiveness of DBT. Method: Systematic bibliographic research was undertaken to find relevant literature from online…

The efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety in adults is well established. In the present study, the authors examined whether CBT tested under well-controlled conditions generalizes to less-controlled, real-world circumstances. Fifty-six effectiveness studies of CBT for adult anxiety disorders were located and synthesized.…

Relapse and recurrence following response to acute-phase treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) are prevalent and costly. In a meta-analysis of 28 studies including 1,880 adults, the authors reviewed the world's published literature on cognitive-behavioral therapies (CT) aimed at preventing relapse-recurrence in MDD. Results indicate that…

Although the subject has been debated and examined for more than 3 decades, it is still not clear whether all psychotherapies are equally efficacious. The authors conducted 7 meta-analyses (with a total of 53 studies) in which 7 major types of psychological treatment for mild to moderate adult depression (cognitive-behavior therapy, nondirective…

The aim of this study was to address claims that among bona fide treatments no one is more efficacious than another by comparing the relative efficacy of cognitive therapy (CT) and relaxation therapy (RT) in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and panic disorder without agoraphobia (PD). Two fixed-effects meta-analyses were…

This meta-analysis summarizes results from 30 randomized experiments that compare behavioral marital therapy with no-treatment control with distressed couples. Results showed that behavioral marital therapy is significantly more effective than no treatment (d=.585). Although behavioral marital therapy research studies tend to be conducted under…

A meta-analysis of 28 studies was conducted to review the effectiveness of Beck's cognitive therapy for depression, and to compare cognitive therapy with other modes of therapy. Results documented a greater degree of change for cognitive therapy compared with a waiting list or no-treatment control, pharmacotherapy, behavior therapy, and other…

Used a meta-analysis to integrate the research literature on the treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Antidepressants, such as clomipramine, and behavior therapy have produced appreciable changes in obsessive-compulsive and depressive symptoms. The effects of tricyclic medication and exposure therapies have not differed significantly, but…

Meta-analyses were performed on 12 studies of treatment with sex offenders (n=1,313). A small, but robust, overall effect size was found for treatment versus comparison conditions. Cognitive-behavioral and hormonal treatments were significantly more effective than behavioral treatments but were not significantly different from each other. (JPS)

Performed a meta-analysis on 18 studies in which a cognitive-behavioral therapy was compared with the same therapy supplemented by hypnosis. Results indicated that hypnosis substantially enhanced treatment outcome, even though there were few procedural differences between the hypnotic and nonhypnotic treatments. Effects seemed particularly…

In review of 19 clinically relevant comparative outcome studies published 1978-88, short-term psychodynamic psychotherapy (STPP) was evaluated as to overall effects, differential effects, and moderating effects vis-a-vis no-treatment controls and alternative psychotherapies, respectively. Overall, STPP was superior to controls at posttreatment,…