Effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy on resilience of adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Resilience is the ability to adapt and thrive to adversities, traumas, threats, or significant sources of stress. Given that resilience is associated with internal and environmental factors, it could be enhanced through interventions that promote such factors. Psychotherapy may work as an intervention that favors resilience. There is evidence that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is effective for treating several problems in diverse populations. Therefore, CBT could be the most indicated therapeutic approach to enhance resilience among individuals. This systematic review aimed to investigate the effectiveness of CBT interventions on adults’ resilience. The study was registered at PROSPERO (CRD42022353059) and followed the PRISMA guidelines. Searches were carried out in PsycNet, PubMed, Scopus, and Embase databases. Forty-three studies were included. Most studies carried out exclusively CBT-based and its procedures mainly involved cognitive restructuring. Interventions ranged from 3 to 48 sessions lasting 45 to 150 min. The meta-analyses indicated evidence of CBT effectiveness in promoting resilience in post-intervention (SMD = 0.73 [95% CI: 0.2–1.25], p = 0.007) and evidence that CBT sustains enhanced resilience in follow-up (SMD = 1.17 [95% CI: 0.01–2.34], p = 0.05). Our findings support the statement that CBT may lead to several beneficial outcomes, including resilience.