Inpatient applications of cognitive-behavioral therapy : a review of recent developments.

The authors review empirical research of the past decade on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) in the treatment of depressed inpatients and offer suggestions for future investigations. CBT appears to offer additive benefits in combination with pharmacotherapy, particularly after the transition from inpatient to outpatient treatment. CBT also holds promise as a primary treatment for inpatients but has not been clearly shown to be as effective as antidepressants. There is as yet no evidence that inpatient CBT is superior to other psychotherapies of comparable intensity or that short-term inpatient CBT has enduring value if not followed by outpatient therapy. Further research is needed to clarify the specific effects of CBT for inpatients and to establish its cost-effectiveness.