14 DAY TRIAL // A new research reveals that depression and panic disorders are conditions that can readily be addressed online, via the Internet, with tangible results. The investigation revealed that cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) conducted over the World Wide Web was just as effective in treating symptoms associated with these conditions as its group-based, face-to-face counterpart. For the purpose of this study, panic disorder was defined as recurring panic attacks, and only mild and moderate signs of depression were considered. The findings do not apply to severe depression, AlphaGalileo reports.
The new conclusions belong to a doctoral paper that is to be presented to the faculty at the Karolinska Institutet, a leading Swedish medical university. “Internet-based CBT is also more cost-effective than group therapy. The results therefore support the introduction of Internet treatment into regular psychiatry, which is also what the National Board of Health and Welfare recommends in its new guidelines for the treatment of depression and anxiety,” says author Jan Bergstrom. He is a doctoral student at the KI Center for Psychiatry Research.
The investigator performed a randomized trial for the doctoral thesis, including about 104 patients who were diagnosed with either panic disorder, or mild or moderate depression. It is estimated that no less than 15 percent of the general population will at one point in their lives develop symptoms of depression, whereas only 4 percent will experience panic attacks. The study was aimed at gaging the differences in outcome for patients treated via Internet-based CBT, as opposed to those who received the same therapy in group sessions.
Bergstrom conducted two analyses of the results, one immediately after the study ended, and another one after six months. He notes that there were no statistically-significant differences in the outcomes of the two approaches to CBT. This means that Internet-based treatments could be readily established in hospitals around the world to reduce cost and help patients with custom-tailored advice. “Thanks to our research, Internet treatment is now implemented within regular healthcare in Stockholm, at the unit Internetpsykiatri.se of Psychiatry Southwest, which probably makes the Stockholm County Council the first in the world to offer such treatment in its regular psychiatric services,” Bergstrom concludes.