New Psychotherapies for Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Objective: To discuss psychotherapies for depression and anxiety that have emerged in recent years and to evaluate their current level of empirical support. Method: An electronic and a manual literature search of psychotherapies for mood and anxiety disorders were conducted. Results: Five new therapies for mood disorders and 3 interventions for posttraumatic stress disorder with co-occurring substance abuse met criteria for inclusion in this review. Fewer psychotherapies have been developed for other anxiety disorders. Although research for some of the psychotherapies has demonstrated superiority to usual care, none have firmly established efficacy or specific benefits over other established psychotherapies. Conclusions: A plurality of the new psychotherapies introduced and established in the past 5 years have been different assimilations of previously established cognitive-behavioural, interpersonal, or psychodynamic models. While initial results are promising for some, more rigorous efficacy trials and replications are necessary before conclusions can be drawn regarding their relative benefits.