2014 Volume 26 Issue 3 Pages 245-254
Objective: The aim of this article is to review computer/internet psychotherapy for any mental disorders. Methods: We searched PubMed and selected the systematic review that meets the following criteria: participants with any mental disorders; computer/internet therapy as the intervention; and any mental disorder severity scale or quality of life scale as the outcome. Results: We identified five systematic reviews: 1) computerized cognitive behavioral therapy (cCBT) for depression; 2) Media-delivered CBT for anxiety disorder; 3) cCBT for insomnia; 4) cognitive remediation schizophrenia; and 5) virtual exposure for anxiety disorder. Although the methodological quality of each review varied widely, computer/internet therapies were statistically more effective than waiting list or no treatment. Only 2) review showed results from the comparison between face-to-face psychotherapy and media-delivered CBT. Symptoms of anxiety was statistically lower in face-to-face psychotherapy than media-delivered CBT. 1) and 2) reviews compared the difference in dropout rate between cCBT and waiting list or no treatment. The reviews reported that cCBT statistically resulted in more dropout than waiting list or no treatment. Conclusions: Computer/internet therapies for depression, anxiety disorder, insomnia and schizophrenia were statistically more effective than waiting list or no treatment. However, computer/internet therapies may increase dropouts.
