Online Talk Therapy Helps with Depression

Yet another reason to love the Internet. Through online therapy, people are getting help in dealing with depression. In a report on CNN a new study (published in The Lancet) suggests that real-time chat therapy with a psychotherapist is successful in helping people with depression.

The online therapy, which is cognitive behavioral therapy, consisted of up to 10 55-minute sessions, five of which were expected to be completed by the four-month follow-up.

The results were strong. Of the 113 people who did online therapy, 38% recovered from depression after four months, compared with 24% of people in the control group. The benefits were maintained at eight months, with 42% of the online therapy group and 26% of the control group having recovered.

One reason that this works is that people might find it easier to talk about things are "embarrassing or stigmatizing if they're not interacting face to face" with a therapist, said Dr. Gregory Simon, a psychiatrist and researcher at Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, Washington.

And of course this is great for people, who for whatever reason, don't have access to in-person counseling.