Cognitive Behaviour Therapy AO3

• +Evidence for effectiveness.

  March compared CBT to antidepressants and a combination of both, in treating 327 adolescents with depression. After 36 weeks, 81% of the CBT group, 81% of the antidepressants group and 86% of the combined group significantly improved. CBT was just as effective as antidepressants and is usually a brief therapy requiring 6-12 sessions so it’s also cost-effective. Therefore CBT is widely seen as the first choice of treatment in public health care systems: NHS.
• -Relapse rates.

  Even though CBT is quite effective in tackling symptoms of depression, there are concerns over how long the benefits last. Relatively few early studies of CBT looked at long-term effectiveness and recent studies suggest long - term outcomes aren’t as good as they’ve been assumed. Ali assessed depression in 439 clients every month for 12 months following a course of CBT. In half a year 42% relapsed and within a year 53% relapsed. This means CBT would need to be repeated periodically.
• -Limited suitability for diverse clients.

  Cases can be so severe that clients can't motivate themselves to engage with the cognitive work of CBT, they may not even be able to pay attention in the session. It seems likely that the hard cognitive work involved in CBT makes it unsuitable for treating depression in clients with learning disabilities. Sturmey suggests that any form of psychotherapy (talking therapy) isn’t suitable for people with learning difficulties. This suggests CBT may only be appropriate for a specific range of people.
• -+More recent evidence challenges Sturmey's view on CBT. Lewis & Lewis concluded that CBT was as effective as antidepressants and behavioural therapies for severe depression. Taylor concluded that CBT is effective for people with learning disabilities when used appropriately. Therefore CBT is applicable and effective for a wider range of people that was once thought.