Are individual and group treatments equally effective in the treatment of depression in adults? A meta-analysis

Background and Objectives: It is well-established that psychological interventions are effective in the treatment of depression. However, it is not yet clear what the optima format is in which psychological treatments should be delivered. Although several studies have examined whether individual and group treatments are equally effective in the treatment of depression, no comprehensive meta-analysis has examined this. Methods: We searched major bibliographical databased and conducted a meta-analysis of 15 studies in which individual and group therapies were compared directly to each other. Results: The mean effect size indicating the difference between individual and group therapies in depressive symptomatology at post-test was 0.20 (95% CI: [0.05 0.35]; p < 0.01), in favor of individual therapies, with a lower drop-out rate in individual interventions (OR = 0.56; 95% CI: [0.37, 0.86]; p < 0.01). At follow-up no significant differences were found. Conclusions: Although individual therapy seems to be somewhat more effective than group therapy at the short term, it is not clear whether this is relevant from a clinical point of view. Because of the small number of studies and the limited quality, more research is needed to examine whether the difference between individual and group treatment is clinically relevant. Received 20 November 2007 Revised 20 November 2007 Accepted 1 December 2007