Cognitive behavioural therapy self-help for depression: An overview

Background: The World Health Organisation suggests that 60-80% of those affected by depression can be effectively treated using medication or psychotherapy within primary care. However, less than 50% of those affected actually receive such treatments. In practice, it remains a challenge to provide access to psychotherapy due to limited numbers of therapists combined with a growing number of treatment guidelines recommending the delivery of evidence-based psychological therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). One way to overcome this problem is to offer therapy in different ways with so-called low-intensity (LI) working. One example of LI working is CBT self-help (CBT-SH). Aims: To provide an overview of the current literature surrounding the effectiveness of CBT-SH with a particular focus on depression and discuss the future directions for both research and policy implementation. Conclusions: It is clear that self-help has a place within a healthcare framework but more work is needed to clarify where and how it should be delivered. The paper concludes that there appears to be enough benefits and sufficient evidence to argue for the introduction of LI working as an appropriate first step for most people facing depression and anxiety.