Delivering psychotherapy for depression via text or voice messages is no less effective than using videoconferencing—and keeps patients more engaged with therapy, according to a report published in Psychiatric Services in Advance.

Patricia Areán, Ph.D., of the University of Washington, and colleagues recruited 215 adults with depression to receive up to 12 weeks of care from digital mental health care company Talkspace. (This study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health and not Talkspace.)

Half of the adults were assigned to receive psychotherapy via asynchronous text or voice messages, in which the patient could interact with the therapist whenever and how often they wanted. The other half of patients met with a therapist weekly for 30 to 45 minutes over a secure videoconferencing service.

After six weeks, any patients who did not show significant improvement in their depression—defined as at least a 50% reduction in their Patient Health Questionnaire–9 (PHQ-9) score from baseline—were randomly reassigned to receive six weeks of either weekly videoconferencing sessions plus message-based therapy, or monthly videoconferencing plus message-based therapy.

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