Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

A study published this month in the British journal Psychological Medicine investigates the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) in treating schizophrenia, major depression, and bipolar disorder. The study finds:

CBT is no better than non-specific control interventions in the treatment of schizophrenia and does not reduce relapse rates. It is effective in major depression but the size of the effect is small in treatment studies. On present evidence CBT is not an effective treatment strategy for prevention of relapse in bipolar disorder.

See the complete study: D. Lynch et al., “Cognitive behavioural therapy for major psychiatric disorder: does it really work? A meta-analytical review of well-controlled trials” Psychological Medicine Jan 2010; 40: 9–24. (requires subscription; the abstract is here