Journal Article

An online therapist-guided ultra-brief treatment for depression and anxiety: a randomized controlled trial

Scott, Amelia J., Balakumar, Tanya, Dear, Blake F., Bisby, Madelyne A., Titov, Nickolai

2024

Overview

There are many barriers to engaging in current psychological treatments, including time, cost, and availability. Ultra-brief treatments overcome some of these barriers by delivering therapeutic information and skills using significantly less time than standard-length treatments. We developed a therapist-guided online ultra-brief treatment for depression and anxiety and compared it to an existing 8-week, 5-lesson therapist-guided standard-length treatment and a waitlist control. In a randomized controlled trial, adults with self-reported depression or anxiety were randomized (1:1:1) to the ultra-brief treatment, standard-length treatment, or waitlist control. The primary outcomes were depression symptoms and anxiety symptoms assessed at baseline, 5-weeks later, 9-weeks later (primary timepoint), and 3-months later. The trial was prospectively registered. Between 7 February 2022, and 16 August 2022, 242 participants were enrolled in the ultra-brief treatment ( = 85), standard-length treatment ( = 80), and waitlist control ( = 77). Participants were mostly women with an average age of 48.56 years. At 9-weeks post-baseline, participants in the ultra-brief treatment group reported significantly lower depression (between groups = 0.41) and anxiety ( = 0.53) than the waitlist control. The ultra-brief treatment was non-inferior for anxiety at both 9-weeks and 3-months follow-up. Non-inferiority for depression was observed at 9-weeks. The online ultra-brief treatment resulted in significant reductions in depression and anxiety that were non-inferior to a longer treatment course after 9-weeks. Remotely delivered ultra-brief treatments have the potential to provide accessible and effective care for those who cannot, or would prefer not to, access longer psychological interventions.

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Subject: Adult / Adults / Anxiety / Anxiety - diagnosis / Anxiety - therapy / Anxiety Disorders - therapy / Clinical trials / Cognition & reasoning / Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - methods / Crisis Intervention / Depression - diagnosis / Depression - therapy / Fear & phobias / Female / Humans / Internet / Male / Mental depression / Mental disorders / Mental health / Middle Aged / Psychologists / Therapists / Therapy / Treatment methods / Treatment Outcome / Women