Efficacy and acceptability of group cognitive behavioral therapy for depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Despite treatment guidelines for depression placing group CBT between low- and high-intensity evidence-based interventions, the validity of the placement remains unknown. We aimed to systematically review evidence for the efficacy and acceptability of group CBT in patients with depression compared to four intensity levels of psychosocial interventions. From 7,953 records, we identified 35 RCTs that compared group CBT to non-active (k = 30), low-intensity (k = 2), middle-intensity (k = 8), and high-intensity (k = 1) interventions. Group CBT had a superior efficacy (SMD = -0.68) and a similar acceptability compared to non-active controls. Pooled results showed a small but non-significant excess of group CBT relative to middle-intensity interventions (SMD = -0.21). Over 60% of studies did not report enough information to judge selection and selective reporting bias. These results suggest the need for high-quality trials of group CBT compared to low- and high-intensity interventions.