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Systematic Review of the Effects of Religion-Accommodative Psychotherapy for Depression and Anxiety

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Abstract

Integrating religion into psychotherapy may improve treatment for depression and anxiety. This review systematically examines clinical trials of religion-accommodative psychotherapy for depression or anxiety. Results indicate that integrating religion into psychotherapy does not lead to significantly more improvements in depression or anxiety than equivalent therapy without religious components. However, when compared with less stringent control groups, such as supportive psychotherapy, religion-accommodative therapy may be more effective, at least immediately post-treatment. Results from the 11 studies reviewed indicate that psychotherapy integrating religion is at least as effective for treating depression and anxiety as other forms of psychotherapy. Conclusions were limited by lack of power, comparable control groups, focus on anxiety, and treatment manuals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Home-Based Primary Care, Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Puget Sound, 1660 South Columbian Way, Mail Stop: S-123-HBPC, Seattle, WA, 98108, USA

    Amber L. Paukert

  2. Veterans Affairs Health Services Research & Development Center of Excellence, Houston, TX, USA

    Laura L. Phillips, Jeffrey A. Cully & Melinda A. Stanley

  3. Veterans Affairs South Central Mental Illness, Research, Education, and Clinical Center (MIRECC), Houston, TX, USA

    Laura L. Phillips, Jeffrey A. Cully, Catherine Romero & Melinda A. Stanley

  4. Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Jeffrey A. Cully, Catherine Romero & Melinda A. Stanley

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  1. Amber L. Paukert
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  2. Laura L. Phillips
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  3. Jeffrey A. Cully
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  4. Catherine Romero
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Correspondence to Amber L. Paukert.

Additional information

While conducting this research, Amber Paukert was a postdoctoral research fellow (TPP 61-000) for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Health Administration, Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) in Seattle, WA, and a psychology intern at Baylor College of Medicine. This work was supported in part by the Houston VA HSR&D Center of Excellence (HFP90-020).

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Veterans Affairs or Baylor College of Medicine.

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Paukert, A.L., Phillips, L.L., Cully, J.A. et al. Systematic Review of the Effects of Religion-Accommodative Psychotherapy for Depression and Anxiety. J Contemp Psychother 41, 99–108 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10879-010-9154-0

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