Message-Based vs Video-Based Psychotherapy for Depression

Is message-based psychotherapy (MBP) more effective than video-based psychotherapy (VBP) in improving clinical outcomes among patients with depression?This sequential multiple assignment randomized clinical trial including 850 adults found similar outcomes between MBP and VBP, contradicting the hypothesis that MBP would be superior due to its immediacy. Among participants who were evaluated for level 2 randomization (363 received MBP and 336 received VBP), there were no statistically significant differences in those who responded to treatment by week 5 (28.9% of those who received MBP vs 27.7% of those who received VBP).This study found that MBP was a viable alternative to VBP; insurance reimbursement for MBP could improve access to evidence-based care.

Corresponding Author: Patrick J. Raue, PhD, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Washington, 1959 NE Pacific St, Box 356560, Seattle, WA 98195 (praue@uw.edu).

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