Depression and chronic anxiety are growing problems in the UK but online Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) may provide an alternative to standard care, according to a new study.

With one in six adults now suffering with depression and anxiety, this latest study found that patients given CBT were two-and-a-half times more likely to recover than people given standard GP care and online treatment could be a more accessible form of treatment.

Patients will be given ten one hour appointments with a therapist via an online instant messenger system. It is believed that writing things down rather than talking enables more thought to be given to answers.

The system also improves access for people who live in locations that are too far from a therapist or for those people who are disabled or housebound.

This latest study published in medical journal The Lancet involved participants aged 18-70+ from the Bristol, London and Warwickshire areas. 149 patients were given online CBT alongside conventional care while 148 were given GP sessions. After four months, patients were given follow-up appointments.

Of the 113 patients who attended the follow-up appointment and treated with online CBT, two fifths had recovered from depression compared with one in four of the 97 GP care patients who completed the follow up session. A further four months found this proportion increased further.

Online Cognitive Behaviour Therapy could prove useful in parts of the country where psychological treatment is scarce or for patients whose first language isn’t English.