Can the effects of a 1-day CBT psychoeducational workshop on self-confidence be maintained after 2 years? A naturalistic study

The continued high prevalence of depression in the general population has been in part attributed to a reluctance to consult and also to the limited capacity of psychological therapy services. In a previous randomized controlled trial, self-referral day-long workshops, each for 25 people, offering a cognitive-behavioral therapy approach, seemed to be effective at 3-month follow-up [Brown et al., 2004]. In this study, both experimental group participants and waiting list control participants who went on to attend the workshops (n=102) were followed up and 54.9% provided data after 2 years. The dropout mechanism was investigated and random effects models were used for all analyses. This is a naturalistic study that lacked a control group and had a relatively high attrition rate. The results nevertheless suggest that positive changes in depression, anxiety, distress, and self-esteem achieved at 3 months follow-up were largely maintained at 2 years for those who were "depressed" (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI] scores of 14 and above). However, nondepressed (BDI scores below 14) did not show any significant change. The overall results of this naturalistic study indicate that a very brief, intensive, and large-scale intervention can largely maintain its effects for participants with depression over a 2-year period.