Paraprofessionals for anxiety and depressive disorders
Published: January 2009 , Search last updated: February 2005
Review at a glance
- Participants: 326 adults with anxiety and/or depression.
- Interventions: Psychological treatment provided by paraprofessionals.
- Comparisons: Same intervention provided by professionals or control.
- Outcomes: Depression and anxiety symptom scale scores.
- Settings: Community-based settings.
- Quality of included studies: Moderate.
What the authors looked for:
What they found:
Participants
Adults with anxiety and depressive disorders.
Participants
326 adults with anxiety and/or depression participating in 5 studies. Three studies involved women only, with a mean age of 28.7 years.
Interventions
Any kind of psychological treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders provided by paraprofessionals (mental health care workers, paid or voluntary, who do not have qualifications for psychological treatment for anxiety and depressive disorders).
Interventions
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and supportive group therapy (SBT) for depression (1 study); systematic desensitisation relaxation and cue-controlled relaxation for speeching anxiety (1 study); a supportive intervention for primiparous mothers (1 study); and peer support for mothers (1 study) and women with chronic depression (1 study), provided by paraprofessionals. Paraprofessionals were volunteers, non-clients, without professional background comprising: experienced mothers, ex-clients, or advanced undergraduates.
Comparisons
Intervention provided by a mental health professional or control (wait list or placebo).
Comparisons
Same intervention (CBT/SBT or relaxation) provided by professionals (2 studies); control (3 studies).
Outcomes
Depression and/or anxiety symptom scale scores.
Outcomes
Depression and anxiety symptom scale scores, measured from 4 weeks to 12 months post-intervention.
Settings
Any setting.
Settings
Community-based settings.
Quality of included studies
Randomised controlled trials.
Quality of included studies
4 studies rated moderate to high and one study rated low quality. Sequence generation: unclear in 5 studies (not reported). Allocation concealment: adequate in 3 studies, not used in 2 studies. Blinding of participants and providers: not feasible. Blinding of outcome assessor: unclear in 5 studies. Accounting for incomplete outcome data: adequate in 3 studies; unclear in 2 studies. Absence of selective reporting: unclear in 5 studies.