Randomised trial, 2019
Does online cognitive behavioral therapy help women with PMDD?
Yes. Women who completed 8 weeks of online therapy had significantly greater improvements in functional impairment, mood, and everyday life. The improvements lasted for at least 6 months.
What they did
174 women with PMDD were randomly assigned to either 8 weeks of therapist-guided online cognitive behavioral therapy or a waitlist (no treatment). They recorded symptoms daily in diaries before, after, and 6 months later.
What they found
The therapy group had significantly greater improvements compared to the waitlist group in functional impairment, psychological impairment, impact on everyday life, symptom intensity, and symptom disability. These improvements remained stable at the 6-month follow-up. Women with higher levels of active coping and lower stress levels showed the strongest improvements.
What it means for you
Online therapy can effectively reduce PMDD burden and the improvements last several months. A major limit is that this study compared therapy to no treatment rather than to other standard treatments for PMDD. Also, individual coping styles appear to matter, so this therapy may work better for some women than others.
174
Women in study
8
Weeks of therapy
6
Months improvement lasted
About the study
- Original title
- Internet-Based Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention for Women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Authors
- Weise C, Kaiser G, Janda C et al.
- Journal
- Psychotherapy and psychosomatics
- Year
- 2019
- Study design
- Randomised trial
- Participants
- 88
- What was tested
- Eight-week therapist-guided internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1159/000496237
Topics
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