A Psychoeducational Approach to the Treatment of Depression: A Meta-analysis of Lewinsohn's "Coping With Depression" Course

The Coping With Depression course is a cognitive behavioral treatment for unipolar depression. The psychoeducational format allows this intervention to be used in several ways, for example, in bibliotherapy, primary prevention, relapse prevention, and treatment of specific populations. Possibly, depressed individuals who otherwise would not seek treatment can be reached with this course because of the nonstigmatizing format and active recruitment. In a literature search, 20 studies on the effects of one of the several forms of the Coping With Depression course were found. An important limitation is that few of the 20 studies made direct comparisons between the effects of the course and those of other psychological and pharmacological interventions. The results of a meta-analysis indicate that this course is an effective therapy for unipolar depression, with effect sizes that are comparable to those of other treatment modalities for depression.