Depression Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Depression, including details on clinical depression, medication, symptoms, treatment, counselling, therapy.

Cognitive behavioral therapy for depression in patients with heart failure: a critical review.

Dekker RL

College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, 760 Rose Street, Lexington, KY 40536-0232, USA. rdekker@uky.edu <rdekker@uky.edu>

Depression is a significant problem in patients with heart failure. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) has been proposed as a potential non-pharmacological treatment for depression in patients with heart failure. The purpose of this review is to examine the evidence for the use of CBT in treating depression and depressive symptoms in patients with cardiovascular illness. In six of the ten studied reviewed, researchers found that CBT reduced depressive symptoms; however, the limitations of the studies prevent wide generalization of the results. There is insufficient evidence to support the use of CBT for the treatment of depressive symptoms in patients with cardiovascular illness at this time. Large randomized, controlled trials that demonstrate the efficacy of CBT are needed before nurses routinely refer patients with heart failure to CBT for the purpose of improving depression or depressive symptoms.

Published 5 February 2008 in Nurs Clin North Am, 43(1): 155-70; viii.
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