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Comparison of the Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
and Religious Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Abstract
Background: Religiosity and spirituality can promote wellness. Additionally, spiritual interventions such as religiously-integrated cognitive behavioral therapy (RCBT) can offer benefits or foster traits that promote mental wellness as well as address mental health conditions.
Objective: This review sought to help guide future practice by summarizing recurrence findings related to Conventional Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CCBT) or Secular Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/Standardized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (SCBT) or RCBT comparing clinical outcomes.
Participants: The final review included four national studies of CCBT or SCBT and RCBT. All four studies were randomized trials. The studies compared health outcomes such as depression, suicidality, anxiety, and adjustment.
Methods: Nine online databases were searched to locate relevant empirical studies. This review attended specifically to contextualizing findings according to methodological variation. A scoping review approach was used to summarize findings. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were utilized.
Results: Of the four studies comparing CCBT or SCBT and RCBT, two found no statistical differences. One study found that CCBT or SCBT and RCBT produce similar or equivalent outcomes. One study found RCBT to be more effective than the treatments outside of RCBT (i.e., CCBT).
Conclusion and Implications: Although, there was no statistical difference between RCBT and CCBT effectiveness from each therapeutic intervention. More studies are needed with comparable and religiously diverse samples. Nonetheless, implications suggest that RCBT is an effective intervention for individuals identifying as spiritual or religious when treatment is delivered by competent clinicians. Hence, there are implications for competence and client's preferences regarding the use of spirituality in clinical intervention.