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Self‐administered treatments for depression: A review
Author(s) -
McKendreeSmith Nancy L.,
Floyd Mark,
Scogin Forrest R.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.10129
Subject(s) - bibliotherapy , psychology , depression (economics) , psychotherapist , clinical psychology , psychiatry , macroeconomics , economics
Although there are numerous self‐help books for depression, relatively few have been empirically tested. However, those that have been used in clinical trials have fared well, with an average effect size roughly equivalent to the average effect size obtained in psychotherapy studies. Computer‐based treatments are being developed and appear promising as an alternative to bibliotherapy for those interested in self‐administered treatments. This article provides a summary of the depression bibliotherapy literature and discusses several remaining questions such as effectiveness versus efficacy, practice applications, ethics, and future research. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 59: 275–288, 2003.