Mental health issues, such as depression, can have a crippling impact on our ability to find work.  New research from Ohio State University highlights how effective cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can be in helping.

The study found that 41% of unemployed or unemployed people were able to find a new job (or progress from part-time to full-time work) after undergoing CBT for 16 weeks.  What’s more, it also helped those who were in work but who were struggling as a result of their depression.

“For the most part, researchers have focused on showing that therapy relieves symptoms of depression,” the researchers say.

“But reducing symptoms isn’t the only goal people have when they start CBT. Many are hoping to find a job or improve their productivity at their current job. Here we found that therapy can help people achieve these goals, as well.”

Back to work

In all, 126 people were given a 16-week course of CBT, which helps to provide patients with a range of coping skills to help counteract any negative beliefs they may have.

“It works on the idea that people with depression invariably hold these overly negative views of themselves and their futures,” the researchers say.  “For example, if an unemployed patient doesn’t get one job they interviewed for, they may think ‘no one is ever going to hire me.'”

While the authors admit that they weren’t able to ascertain how many of the patients who secured improvements in their work prospects after undergoing CBT would have done so without it, they nonetheless believe the findings are encouraging.

This is especially so as the therapy also had a positive impact on those already in work but suffering from mental health issues, such as depression.

“Working patients reported at the end of treatment that they were much more successful at concentrating and accomplishing tasks at their jobs,” they explain.

The authors suggest that CBT has been effective in such a scenario because it reduces the “negative cognitive style” of the individual.  Or, in other words, it reduces the extent to which they view negative events in largely pessimistic ways.

“CBT helps patients overcome these views by teaching them that the experience of depression is not their fault and that they can take steps to improve their concentration and accomplish work more successfully even when experiencing depressive symptoms,” they conclude.