CBT mobile apps as a therapeutic intervention for treatment of depression

The explosive growth of technology has resulted in a wide range of online therapeutic interventions available on mobile devices. Most of the programs are grounded in cognitive behavioural therapy. The evidence to date suggests that these interventions are effective in reducing symptoms of depression. As more and more mental health applications are being introduced, it is important to verify their effectiveness in clinical trials, meta-analyses, or systematic reviews. The primary aim of this study is to provide a systematic review of randomised clinical trials on the effectiveness of cognitive behavioural therapy-based mobile applications. Can mobile applications based on the principles of cognitive behavioural therapy support the treatment of depression? A systematic review of the literature available in PubMed and MEDLINE was conducted to answer this question. This included English-language articles published within the last five years. One of the criteria was also the type of article considered in particular randomised clinical trials, but the collected material was also filtered for meta-analyses, observational studies, and clinical trials. Ultimately, eleven scientific articles meeting all the criteria were identified. The systematic review brings implications for clinical practice and psychotherapy, and allows us to consider to what extent therapeutic mobile applications imitate the therapeutic situation. However, the present study also has limitations and is only a prelude to further research. It would be beneficial to follow it up with a network meta-analysis to compare the widely divergent treatment methods in the randomised clinical trials analysed.