Study designs of evaluations included in the review
Randomised controlled trials were eligible for inclusion. Studies carried out in Malaysia and in the USA were included in the review.
Specific interventions included in the review
Studies comparing religious psychotherapy with either another form of psychotherapy or a waiting-list control were eligible for inclusion. Included in the review were religious cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), and control groups of nonreligious CBT, pastoral counselling therapy, and waiting-list control. The patients in some studies also received treatment with benzodiazepines or antidepressants, as well as standard therapy. Standard therapy consisted of support and reassurance, reinforcement of adaptive behaviour and improvement of coping mechanisms. Whether the therapist was religious or nonreligious was also a randomised condition in one study.
Participants included in the review
Studies with a population comprising adults with anxiety or depression disorders were eligible for inclusion. The patients included in the review had diagnoses of generalised anxiety disorder, dysthymic disorder, major depressive disorder and nonpsychotic, nonbipolar depression.
Outcomes assessed in the review
Studies assessing any outcome were eligible for inclusion. The outcome measures in the review included the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale and the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD).
How were decisions on the relevance of primary studies made?
The author did not state how the papers were selected for the review, or how many reviewers performed the selection.