The last few years have seen a plethora of new online mental health services emerging.  As with any explosion of innovation, the variance in quality among these services can be considerable, but a recent study from Indiana University nonetheless finds that such online therapy programs can effectively reduce depression among users.

The research examined 21 previous studies into the issue, which collectively involved nearly 5,000 participants.  The studies all covered a range of online interventions utilizing cognitive behavioral therapy to treat depression.  The researchers particularly wanted to examine whether previous studies had excluded patients with severe depression or other additional conditions, and therefore ran the risk of inflating their findings.

“Before this study, I thought past studies were probably focused on people with very mild depression, those who did not have other mental health problems, and were at low risk for suicide,” the authors explain. “To my surprise, that was not the case. The science suggests that these apps and platforms can help a large number of people.”

Tackling depression

The research found that online cognitive behavioral therapy can be a vital new tool in addressing public health issues, as the supply of trained professionals is far below the demand for mental health support among the public.

“Close to one in four people meet the criteria for major depressive disorder,” the researchers explain. “If you include people with minor depression or who have been depressed for a week or a month with a few symptoms, the number grows, exceeding the number of psychologists who can serve them.”

If these symptoms aren’t tackled, they tend to become incredibly expensive very quickly, as people make frequent trips to their primary care doctor, and often present with multiple medical problems, with the depression blocking their attempts to gain adequate treatment for them.

The analysis found that online therapy platforms do an effective job of alleviating depression, with their effectivenes consistent across cases of mild, moderate and severe depression.

Suffice to say, in many of the studies, the online services were compared with offline services, which if they’re not accessible or available makes it quite an easy comparison for the online platforms to win.  The researchers accept that in some instances, face-to-face consultations may be better, and they don’t recommend ditching that in favor of online alternatives, but they do nonetheless believe online platforms can play a valuable role, especially in providing coverage in areas with limited support at the moment.

It’s an area that’s only likely to grow in the coming years, both as mental health shreds the taboo still attached to it, and as platforms become more advanced and accepted.