Effectiveness of an Internet Intervention (Deprexis) for Depression in a United States Adult Sample: A Parallel-Group Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial

• Published in: Journal of consulting and clinical psychology Vol. 85; no. 4; pp. 367 - 380
• Main Authors: Beevers, Christopher G., Pearson, Rahel, Hoffman, James S., Foulser, A. Alban, Shumake, Jason, Meyer, Björn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Psychological Association 01-04-2017
• Subjects: Adult; Adults; Anxiety-Depression; Black American people; Clinical psychology; Clinical trials; Depression - therapy; Disability; Female; Helpseeking; Hispanic American people; Hispanic people; Human; Humans; Internet; Intervention; Interventions; Major Depression; Male; Mental depression; Mental health care; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Panic; Psychotherapy - methods; Randomized controlled trials; Selfreport; Social anxiety; Treatment Effectiveness Evaluation; Treatment Outcomes; United States; Wellbeing; United States > US; clinical trial; depression; treatment outcome; Internet intervention
• ISSN: 0022-006X; 1939-2117
• DOI: 10.1037/ccp0000171

Objective: To examine the effectiveness of an Internet intervention for depression with a randomized, controlled trial in a large sample of adults recruited from the United States. Method: The current study examines the effectiveness of Deprexis, an Internet treatment for depression that was provided with relatively minimal support. There were 376 treatment-seeking adults (mean age = 32 years; 74% female; 77% Caucasian, 7% Asian, 7% multiple races, 4% African American, and 11% Hispanic/Latino) with elevated depression (Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms-Self-Report [QIDS-SR] > = 10) who were randomized to receive an 8-week course of treatment immediately (n = 285) or after an 8-week delay (n = 91; i.e., waitlist control). Results: Intention-to-treat analyses indicated that treatment was associated with greater reduction in self-reported symptoms of depression (effect size d = .80) and 12 times greater likelihood of experiencing at least 50% symptom improvement compared with waitlist control. Similar effects were observed for several secondary outcomes, such as interviewer-rated depression symptoms, well-being, and depression-related disability. Treatment effects for symptoms of social anxiety, panic, and traumatic intrusions were relatively small. Conclusion: Results suggest that Deprexis can produce symptomatic improvement among depressed adults recruited from the United States. Additional research is needed that examines whether improvements are maintained over time and who is particularly likely to respond to this form of treatment.
What is the public health significance of this article?
This study suggests that a minimally supported and easily accessible internet intervention, known as Deprexis, can be an effective form of treatment compared with care as usual for adults with depression.