Describe Wiles' study of the effectiveness of CBT.
How to approach this question
To describe a study, you should aim to include the following key details:
- **Aim**: What did the study want to find out?
- **Procedure/Method**: Who were the participants? What did they do? What were the different conditions or groups?
- **Results**: What were the key findings?
- **Conclusion** (optional but good): What did the results suggest?
Full Answer
Wiles et al. (2013) investigated the effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) for depression in patients who had not responded to antidepressant medication. The study involved 469 participants who were split into two groups. One group continued with their usual care (antidepressants only), while the other group received usual care plus a course of CBT. The researchers measured the participants' depression symptoms using a self-report scale (the BDI) at the start, and then again after 6 and 12 months. The results showed that the group who received CBT in addition to medication had a significantly greater reduction in depressive symptoms compared to the group who only had medication.
Wiles et al. (2013) conducted a randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of CBT as an adjunct treatment for patients with treatment-resistant depression. This means they specifically chose patients for whom standard medical treatment (antidepressants) was not working effectively. By comparing a 'CBT + medication' group with a 'medication only' group, they could isolate the effect of the CBT. The finding that the CBT group did significantly better provides strong evidence that CBT is an effective treatment for this specific patient group.
Common mistakes
Being too vague and not including specific details like the number of participants, the two conditions, or how depression was measured.
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