Depression has always been one of the major problems around the world. People do a lot of unexplainable things when their depressed. According to statistics, almost 8 percent of Americans ages 12 and older has dealt with depression at some point in their lives between 2009 and 2012.
For many of us, when we're feeling blue, wouldn't it be so much nicer if we could just sit in front of the computer in our pajamas, without any fear of the being judged of asking for help, and find real solution to how we're feeling?
Programs online have been commercially available to help combat the disturbing number of reported cases of depression. This may sound cost effective and effective, but according to a study in the United Kingdom, they're not really that effective, mainly because depressed people don't usually like to socialize or to mingle with other people.
The study, which was published in The BMJ, observed computer-assisted cognitive behavioral therapy and discovered that it failed in the effectiveness department compared to the usual care patients get from the doctor, when it comes to treating depression.
Traditional cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is considered an effective form of talk therapy for depression, helping people challenge negative thoughts and change the way they think in order to change their mood and behaviors. Online CBT programs have been gaining popularity, with the allure of providing low-cost help wherever someone has access to a computer.
Researchers from the University of York started a randomized controlled trial with 691 depressed patients from 83 doctors across England. The patients were then divided into three groups: one group received only usual care from a physician while the other two groups received the care from physician and two computerized CBT programs, either "Beating the Blues" or "MoodGYM." The subjects were grouped according to age, sex, educational background, severity and the length of depression, and use of antidepressants.
After four months, the patients who used the computer programs showed no improvement in the level of depression than those who received care from their doctors. There were also approximately a quarter of participants who backed out of the study over the period of 4 months. They felt they were "clinically depressed" because of repeatedly logging on to the computer.
Christopher Dowrick, a professor of primary medical care at the University of Liverpool explained that it is important and mindful that we should not get carried away with the thought that a computer system can take the place of a human doctor or therapist. Depressed people, still, more than anything need human interaction and touch.
The absence of patient engagement in this study simply shows that these programs are not the solution busy doctors and cost-conscious health care officials may be hoping for. Dowrick wrote.