The ARCH Lab contributed to a paper published in JAMA Psychiatry titled “Effect Of Online 1-Day Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Based Workshops Plus Usual Care Vs Usual Care Alone For Postpartum Depression: A Randomized Clinical Trial”.

Postpartum depression (PPD) affects as many as 20% of mothers, yet just 1 in 10 of these women receives evidence-based treatment. The objective of this Randomized Control Trial (RCT) was to determine whether an online 1-day cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based workshop added to treatment as usual improves PPD, anxiety, social support, mother-infant relationship quality, and infant temperament more than treatment as usual alone.

This paper outlines an RCT where 403 women with PPD were randomly assigned to either receive a 1-Day CBT workshop in addition to their treatment or continue with treatment as usual.

Results showed that the workshop led to significant reductions in post-partum depression scores, as measured by the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Mothers also reported  improvements in bonding, infant-focused anxiety, social support and positive affectivity/surgency in infants.