BIBLIOTHERAPY FOR DEPRESSION

CLINICAL GUIDELINES

The Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2016 Depression Guidelines state the following regarding self-help bibliotherapy:

Overall, bibliotherapy has practical utility due to ease of use and low cost, may be useful for people waiting to be seen for clinical care, and remains a second-line treatment, either alone or as an adjunct to medication, ideally with clinician encouragement and monitoring.

CLINICAL TRIALS, SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS & META-ANALYSES

  • Gregory, R. J., Canning, S. S., Lee, T. W., & Wise, J. C. (2004). Cognitive bibliotherapy for depression: A meta-analysis. Professional Psychology, Research and Practice, 35(3), 275-280. https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.35.3.275

  • Cuijpers, P. (1997). Bibliotherapy in unipolar depression: A meta-analysis. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 28(2), 139-147. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7916(97)00005-0

  • Gualano, M. R., Bert, F., Martorana, M., Voglino, G., Andriolo, V., Thomas, R., Gramaglia, C., Zeppegno, P., & Siliquini, R. (2017). The long-term effects of bibliotherapy in depression treatment: Systematic review of randomized clinical trials. Clinical Psychology Review, 58, 49-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2017.09.006

  • Moldovan, R., Cobeanu, O., & David, D. (2013). Cognitive bibliotherapy for mild depressive symptomatology: Randomized clinical trial of efficacy and mechanisms of change: Cognitive bibliotherapy for mild depressive symptomatology. Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, 20(6), 482-493. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.1814

  • Naylor, E. V., Antonuccio, D. O., Litt, M., Johnson, G. E., Spogen, D. R., Williams, R., McCarthy, C., Lu, M. M., Fiore, D. C., & Higgins, D. L. (2010). Bibliotherapy as a treatment for depression in primary care. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 17(3), 258-271. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-010-9207-2

  • Smith, N. M., Floyd, M. R., Scogin, F., & Jamison, C. S. (1997). Three-year follow-up of bibliotherapy for depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 65(2), 324-327. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-006X.65.2.324

BIBLIOTHERAPY FOR ANXIETY

CLINICAL GUIDELINES

The Canadian clinical practice guidelines for the management of anxiety, posttraumatic stress and obsessive-compulsive disorders (2014) state the following regarding self-help bibliotherapy:

CBT can be effectively delivered as individual or group therapy for most anxiety and related disorders. In addition, a variety of self-directed or minimal intervention formats (e.g., bibliotherapy/self-help books, or internet/ computer-based programs with or without minimal therapist contact) have demonstrated significant improvements in anxiety symptoms.

For panic disorder and agoraphobia, specifically: Minimal intervention formats, such as self-help books (bibliotherapy), treatment via telephone/ videoconferencing, and internet-based CBT have been shown to be more effective than wait-list or relaxation controls, as effective as face-to-face CBT, and may be cost-effective options particularly for agoraphobic patients who are unwilling or unable to attend a clinic. When using bibliotherapy, providing information all at one time was as effective as pacing, and therapist support does not appear to be essential.

For obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), specifically: Bibliotherapy in the form of self-help manuals delivered to patients via email has demonstrated significantly greater improvements in OCD symptoms compared with wait-list control groups in two RCTs.

CLINICAL TRIALS, SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS & META-ANALYSES

  • Lewis, C., Pearce, J., & Bisson, J. I. (2012). Efficacy, cost-effectiveness and acceptability of self-help interventions for anxiety disorders: Systematic review. British Journal of Psychiatry, 200(1), 15-21. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.110.084756

  • Yuan, S., Zhou, X., Zhang, Y., Zhang, H., Pu, J., Yang, L., Liu, L., Jiang, X., & Xie, P. (2018). Comparative efficacy and acceptability of bibliotherapy for depression and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: A meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 14, 353-365. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S152747