Efficacy of inpatient psychotherapy for major depressive disorder: a meta‐analysis of controlled trials

Objective This meta‐analysis investigates the efficacy of inpatient psychotherapy in major depressive disorders compared to control conditions. Methods In total, 14 studies were entered into the meta‐analysis with a total of 1.080 patients. Primary outcome was the standardized mean differences in self‐rated depression outcomes. A priori planned subgroup analyses included the influence of different control conditions: (a) no psychiatric inpatient treatment (e.g., waitlist control), (b) treatment as usual (TAU; e.g., non‐manualized clinical management), (c) TAU determined by study design (manualized/’placebo’ control condition), as well as number of sessions and influence of self‐ vs. clinician ratings. Results The meta‐analysis of 19 available comparisons resulted in a moderate pooled effect size showing a small and statistically significant benefit of the psychotherapeutic intervention over control conditions (g = 0.24, P