Psychological treatments for persistent depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis of quality of life and functioning outcomes.

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported in Vol 59(3) of Psychotherapy (see record 2022-94545-001). In the article, there were errors in the abstract. The confidence interval in the sentence Quality of life at follow-up: pooled g = 0.21 should appear as follows: 95% CI, 0.10-0.32. In the sentence The psychological interventions were associated with improvements in patients' functioning at end-of-treatment, the pooled g should appear as g = 0.35. The confidence interval in the sentence Functioning at follow-up resulted in: pooled g = 0.33 should appear as follows: 95% CI, 0.15-0.51. Figure 5 also has been corrected. All versions of this article have been corrected.] To date it is unclear whether psychological therapies have potential to improve quality of life and functioning in patients with persistent depression. This meta-analysis examines the effect of psychological therapies for improving quality of life and functioning in patients with persistent forms of depression. Data sources include Medline and Meta-Analytic Psychotherapy Database (METAPSY), searched 07/2021. Eligible studies were randomized controlled trials where participants had major depressive disorder on entry and met criteria for a persistent form of depression, for example, chronic, treatment resistant or recurrent depression. Standardized mean differences (Hedge's g) were calculated in random-effects meta-analyses. Fourteen studies met inclusion criteria ( N = 1898). Psychological interventions were associated with improvements in patients' quality of life at the end of treatment: pooled g = 0.24 (95% confidence intervals [CIs] 0.13-0.34); low to moderate levels of heterogeneity ( I ² = 0% [95% CI 0%-41.2%]). Quality of life at follow-up: pooled g = 0.21 (95% CI 0.01-0.32); low to high levels of heterogeneity considering the wide CI for I ² ( I ² = 10.36% [95% CI 0%-77.5%]). The psychological interventions were associated with improvements in patients' functioning at end of treatment: pooled g = 0.34 (95% CI 0.21-0.48); low to high levels of heterogeneity considering the wide CI for I ² ( I ² = 0% [95% CI 0%-81.7%]). Functioning at follow-up resulted in: pooled g = 0.33 (95% CI 0.15-0.50); low to high levels of heterogeneity considering the wide CI for I ² ( I ² = 0% [95% CI 0%-86.2%]). This meta-analysis highlights the potential benefits of psychological therapies for improving quality of life and functioning in patients with persistent depression, with strongest long-term effects for mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, interpersonal therapy in combination with antidepression medication, and long-term psychoanalytic psychotherapy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).