Electronic message-based psychotherapy allows patients to exchange emails, texts, or voice or video messages with therapists and can be as effective as live video sessions for individuals being treated for depression, new research suggests. Researchers compared outcomes of 850 adults who received either message-based psychotherapy or weekly video-based psychotherapy through a commercial online mental health platform, Talkspace.

“We found that patients improved at similar rates, regardless of whether they were communicating with their therapist through messaging or live video calls,” said Patricia A. Areán, PhD, of the University of Washington School of Medicine and a senior author of the study. “This supports the use of text-based therapy as a viable, evidence-based way to treat the millions of Americans who experience depression every year.” 

Participants were randomly assigned to one of the two formats for 12 weeks. Those who did not respond after six weeks of treatment were re-randomized to receive a combination of both modalities. At the end of the trial, participants in both groups showed comparable improvements in depression symptoms and social functioning.

The research team noted that patients receiving video-based therapy were slightly more likely to disengage early in treatment, while message-based therapy offered greater flexibility for patients to engage with therapists.

To download the full study, published in JAMA Network Open, click here