A comparison of completion and recovery rates between first-line protocol-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and non-manualised Relational Therapies within a UK psychological service

This study compares completion and recovery rates between protocol-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), offered as a first-line therapy for common mental health problems as per national guidelines, and relational therapies (RTs), scarcely provided in the English Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme. This is a non-randomised, naturalistic study in a treatment-seeking community sample (n=708). RTs consist of brief psychodynamic and relational integrative therapy. Completion rates relied on clinicians' coding and recovery rates were calculated based on the Patient Health Questionnaires-9 and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7. Doubly robust regression analysis was used to control both the treatment allocation and outcome variables for pre-treatment differences between the intervention groups. Significantly more RTs clients completed treatment compared to CBT clients. No significant differences in recovery rates between CBT and RTs were found using traditional null hypothesis significance tests; the groups were found to be equivalent using equivalence tests. Only when the analysis was repeated in treatment completers, did CBT clients achieve around one quarter higher recovery rates. Both CBT and RTs appeared to be equally effective and showed recovery and completion rates equivalent to or above the national average. These findings demonstrate the advantages of therapies other than CBT. Future research is needed to replicate the equivalence between th...
Source: Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Source Type: research