The Evaluation of Cognitive–Behavioral Group Therapy on Patient Depression and Self-Esteem

We evaluated the impact of cognitive–behavioral group therapy on the depression and self-esteem of clinically depressed patients. This longitudinal study involved 26 experimental group patients who received 12 weeks of cognitive–behavioral group therapy and 25 comparison subjects. Two weeks before the study, immediately upon therapy completion, and 1 month later, all the participants underwent pretest, posttest, and follow-up, respectively. The experimental group patients experienced greater cognitive improvements (i.e., depression relief, self-esteem increase) as compared with the comparison group subjects. One month after therapy completion, the depressive symptoms and self-esteem of the experimental group patients remained slightly but significantly better than those of the comparison group subjects.