Early termination of cognitive-behavioural interventions: literature review

Aims and method The evidence of the efficacy of cognitive-behavioural interventions is well established. Despite this, clinicians often face a consistent number of not attended appointments or early treatment discontinuation rates. This paper reviews the literature to date regarding the possible causes of early termination of cognitive-behavioural interventions. A literature search was done using Medline, PsycINFO, Embase and the Cochrane Library. Results We reviewed 14 articles. Out of these, two were randomised controlled trials, one was a controlled trial and the rest were cohort studies. Drop-out was defined differently across papers. There are many factors that may affect early treatment discontinuation rates and they are described individually. Clinical implications There does not appear to be a single strong predictor of early treatment discontinuation. Specific literature relating to cognitive-behavioural therapy is scarce. However, some factors such as young age, education level and psychopathology appear to be more strongly associated with early treatment discontinuation than others.