Self-help books 'treat depression'

Can a self-help book aid depression?

Prescribing self-help books on the NHS is an effective treatment for depression, a study suggests.

Patients offered books, plus sessions guiding them in how to use them, had lower levels of depression a year later than those offered usual GP care.

The effect was seen in addition to the benefits of other treatments such as antidepressants, Scottish researchers report in the journal Plos One.

Such an approach may help the NHS tackle demand for therapy, they said.

More than 200 patients who had been diagnosed with depression by their GP took part in the study, half of whom were also on antidepressant drugs.