Folks with depression who got therapy via text or voice messages fared just as well as those who got weekly video-based telemedicine sessions with a therapist, a new trial has found.
The findings “suggest that psychotherapy delivered via text messages may be a viable alternative to face-to-face or videoconferencing delivery and may allow for more immediate on-demand care,” in a time when it’s often tough for people to access mental health care, the study authors wrote.
Actually I suspect this can actually be MORE effective than in-person therapy, at least in one specific way. A critical part of a complete Dialectal Behavior Therapy Program is telephone coaching (there are some limits, usually the therapist won’t pick up calls overnight or during the day you might have to leave a message and get called back within an hour or two). This is an important component because that almost complete behavioral restructuring realistically has to be learned in the environment in which those behaviors are actually needed instead of just in the therapist’s office. DBT is one of the best and most effective therapies for a reason and bringing the therapy into your home and daily life is a big part of that. Individual and groups are part of it too though.