It looks as if the research efficacy of Cognitive Therapy is becoming more well-known. Clinical Psychology Review is a peer-reviewed journal that publishes substantive reviews of topics relevant to clinical psychology. The most downloaded article from this important journal is The empirical status of cognitive-behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses (Volume 26, Issue 1, January 2006, Pages 17-31), authored by Andrew C. Butler, Jason E. Chapman, Evan M. Forman and Aaron T. Beck.
This 2006 review summarizes CBT treatment outcomes for a wide array of psychiatric disorders and includes sixteen methodologically rigorous meta-analyses. Findings are consistent with previous review methodologies and demonstrate the efficacy of CBT for many disorders. Specifically, unipolar depression, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia), social phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder, and childhood depressive and anxiety disorders all showed large effect sizes. Marital distress, anger, childhood somatic disorders, and chronic pain showed moderate effect sizes.
CBT was also shown to be somewhat superior to antidepressants in the treatment of adult depression and as effective as behavior therapy in the treatment of both adult depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Bulimia nervosa and schizophrenia showed large, uncontrolled effect sizes.