DO COGNITIVE-BEHAVIOR THERAPIES VALIDATE COGNITIVE MODELS OF MOOD DISORDERS - A REVIEW OF THE EMPIRICAL-EVIDENCE

The efficacy of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) in the treatment of depression is now established. However, explanations for the efficacy of CBT are mixed. The evidence needed to support the explanation advan ced by cognitive theory is lacking. This paper critically reviews the available. empirical evidence. Forty-four outcome or process studies o f therapy with depression are reviewed and 21 of these are subjected t o a meta-analysis to investigate the relationship between change in co gnitions and change in level of depression during different kinds of t herapy. Our analysis shows that: (1) change in cognitive style occurs in all four categories of treatment: CBT, Drug Therapy, Other-Psycholo gical Therapy, and Waiting List; (2) there was a significant differenc e between Waiting List and all the active treatments in change in cogn itions, but not between active treatments; (3) the degree of change in cognitive style is significantly related to change in depression as m easured by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), but not the Hamilton R ating Scale for Depression (HRS-D); and (4) the relationship between c ognitive change and depression is not unique to CBT. Our findings show that CBT does provide some support for the cognitive models of depres sion but the relationship between cognitive change and recovery from d epression is not unique to CBT.