(NewsNation) — Text-based therapy can work as well as live video therapy for depression, researchers found in a new study.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, was conducted by researchers from the University of Washington School of Medicine and Talkspace.
Talkspace is a commercial, telehealth mental health platform.
They examined the outcomes of 850 adults who received therapy via the platform through either message-based or weekly video therapy.
Researchers found that patients with depression showed similar improvement with both methods.
Those in the study were randomly assigned to one of the two formats for 12 weeks. Those who didn’t show a response after six weeks of treatment were re-randomized to receive a combination of both kinds of therapy.
At the end, the patients showed similar improvements in depression symptoms and social functioning.
Researchers said those on video were slightly more likely to disengage early in treatment as opposed to message-based therapy.
Those behind the study credited flexibility for patients with the difference.
The authors said that insurance for message-based therapy would make it more accessible.