Ever since the pandemic, there's been a surge in people getting mental health care through telemedicine New research suggests that telemedicine is equally beneficial against depression if its delivered via test rather than video conferencing As well, people tended to stick longer with therapy when it was delivered via voice/text messaging, researchers say TUESDAY, July 23, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Folks with depression who got therapy via text or voice messages fared just as well as those who got weekly video-based telemedicine sessions with a therapist, a new trial has found. The findings "suggest that psychotherapy delivered via text messages may be a viable alternative to face-to-face or videoconferencing delivery and may allow for more immediate on-demand care," in a time when it's often tough for people to access mental health care, the study authors wrote. The trial was funded by the U.
S. National Institute of Mental Health and published July 19 in the journal Psychiatric Services . The shutdown of traditional in-office services during the pandemic threw the spotlight on telemedicine as a means of delivering psychiatric care.
But are face-to-face video sessions the only effective way to deliver telemedicine? In the new study, 215 adults with depression received 12 weeks of telemedicine care from a digital mental health care company called Talkspace (the company played no role in funding the study). Half of the patients received weekly standard videoconference sessions w.