Beating the Blues, Computer-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Computer-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Beating the Blues (BtB), is a computer-delivered series of cognitive behavioral therapy sessions for adults with mild to moderate depression and/or anxiety. Delivered online in eight personalized 50-minute sessions accessed about weekly, the intervention teaches cognitive and behavioral strategies. During early sessions, clients learn about depression and anxiety and how to identify their own symptoms, and they set goals for therapy. In the following sessions, clients learn how to identify and change their thoughts, inner beliefs, and attributional styles (ways for explaining the causes of an event or behavior) that are exacerbating their problems. A clinician is needed only to screen clients for depression and/or anxiety and provide them with a referral to BtB or access to the online system. Evaluations of BtB provide evidence that the model can be effective at reducing the severity of depression and anxiety.