Cognitive behavior therapy for depression? Choose horses for courses.

OBJECTIVE Although cognitive behavior therapy is a widely accepted treatment for depression, the problematic nature of efficacy studies is insufficiently recognized. METHOD The authors reviewed original studies and quantitative analyses on the use of cognitive behavior therapy for depression. RESULTS The authors suggested that claims for cognitive behavior therapy's efficacy on depression have been overstated, questioned whether its efficacy fits within its theoretical underpinning, and argued against viewing cognitive behavior therapy as a universal rather than a targeted strategy. CONCLUSIONS Although cognitive behavior therapy may act more by its nonspecific therapeutic ingredients, the authors argued that by testing cognitive behavior therapy's efficacy in heterogeneous study groups, rather than in specific subgroups, failure to differentiate it from control therapies may have been ensured.