Major review gives thumbs up to self-help

In guided self-help patients take home a standardized psychological treatment and work through it more or less independently. The treatment can be written down in a book or be available via a web site, television, video or audio and some support is given by a professional therapist or coach. P. Cuijpers from the VU University in Amsterdam reviewed 21 studies, including 810 participants, comparing face-to-face therapy with guided self-help. They concluded that guided self-help was just as effective as face-to-face therapy, that its effects lasted for a year and that people were just as likely to carry on with their treatment.

Cuijpers, P. ... [et al] - Is guided self-help as effective as face-to-face psychotherapy for depression and anxiety disorders? A systematic review and meta-analysis of comparative outcome studies Psychological Medicine (2010), 40, 1943–1957