Abstract
BackgroundA number of trials have examined the effects of self-guided psychological intervention, without any contact between the participants and a therapist or coach. The results and sizes of these trials have been mixed. This is the first quantitative meta-analysis, aimed at organizing and evaluating the literature, and estimating effect size.MethodWe conducted systematic literature searches in PubMed, PsycINFO and Embase up to January 2010, and identified additional studies through earlier meta-analyses, and the references of included studies. We identified seven randomized controlled trials that met our inclusion criteria, with a total of 1,362 respondents. The overall quality of the studies was high. A post-hoc power calculation showed that the studies had sufficient statistical power to detect an effect size of d = 0.19.ResultsThe overall mean effect size indicating the difference between self-guided psychological treatment and control groups at post-test was d = 0.28 (p<0.001), which corresponds to a NNT of 6.41. At 4 to 12 months follow-up the effect size was d = 0.23. There was no indication for significant publication bias.ConclusionsWe found evidence that self-guided psychological treatment has a small but significant effect on participants with increased levels of depressive symptomatology.
Highlights
It is well-established that self-help interventions can have positive effects on symptoms of depression [1,2,3,4], anxiety disorders [5,6], sleep problems [7], headache [8], and many other healthrelated problems [9]
The overall mean effect size indicating the difference between self-guided psychological treatment and control groups at post-test was d = 0.28 (p,0.001), which corresponds to a NNT of 6.41
We found evidence that self-guided psychological treatment has a small but significant effect on participants with increased levels of depressive symptomatology
Summary
It is well-established that self-help interventions can have positive effects on symptoms of depression [1,2,3,4], anxiety disorders [5,6], sleep problems [7], headache [8], and many other healthrelated problems [9]. A considerable number of studies and meta-analyses have found that guided self-help for depression is effective compared to untreated control conditions [1,2,3,5] and that it may be as effective as faceto-face treatments [10]. Whether self-guided psychological treatment without therapist support is effective has been examined in a considerable number of studies, but the results are mixed. With the help of meta-analyses with sufficient statistical power it may be possible to detect reliable small effects. A number of trials have examined the effects of self-guided psychological intervention, without any contact between the participants and a therapist or coach. This is the first quantitative meta-analysis, aimed at organizing and evaluating the literature, and estimating effect size
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