Psychological Therapy Outcomes and Engagement in People of Different Religions

TL;DR

Muslim patients, especially those of White or other ethnicities, had worse psychological therapy outcomes compared to other religious groups in England.

Contribution

The study identifies inequalities in psychological therapy outcomes by religion and ethnicity, suggesting the need for culturally adapted interventions.

Findings

Muslim patients had lower odds of reliable recovery compared to non-Muslim patients after adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical factors.

White or other ethnic Muslim patients had worse outcomes than Asian, Black, or mixed race Muslim patients.

Treatment outcomes improved over time for all groups, but Muslim patients remained least likely to improve.

Abstract

This cohort study evaluates whether a patient’s religion is associated with their outcomes in psychological therapy.

Are there inequalities in psychological therapy outcomes by self-identified religion, and if so, what are the contributing factors?

In this cohort study of 70 098 individuals in England, UK, Muslim patients were less likely to recover following psychological therapy than patients of all other religions or none after adjusting for sociodemographic, treatment-related, and clinical characteristics. Muslim patients of White or other ethnicities had worse outcomes than Asian, Black, and mixed race Muslim patients and patients of those ethnicities with other religious identities.

These findings suggest cultural adaptations at the organizational, therapist, and therapy levels should be considered to reduce inequalities in psychological therapy outcomes, particularly for Muslim patients of White or other ethnic backgrounds.

Identifying whether people of minoritized religious identities are less likely to benefit from psychological therapy is key to tackling inequalities in mental health treatment.

To assess inequalities in the effectiveness of routinely delivered psychological therapy across religious groups and by the intersections with ethnicity.

Retrospective cohort study including all patients who completed a course of treatment at 5 London-based National Health Service Talking Therapies for anxiety and depression (NHS TTad) services between 2011 and 2020. Individuals reported their religion using routine patient records collected by the services. Data were analyzed from September 2023 to October 2024.

Self-identified religion was categorized into (1) no religion, (2) Christian, (3) Muslim, and (4) other (which was further categorized into Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Sikh, and any other in a sensitivity analysis). Ethnicity was conceptualized as a potential confounder and separately as an effect modifier. Self-reported ethnicity was categorized based on UK Census codes into Asian, Black, mixed race, White, and other ethnic groups.

Psychological treatment outcomes used to assess NHS TTad services nationally, including reliable recovery, recovery, and reliable deterioration. Dropout from treatment was also examined. These outcomes were defined based on pre-post treatment changes in depression and anxiety symptom measures according to national guidelines.

A total of 70 098 patients with data on self-reported religion were included in the study (mean [SD] age at referral, 39.2 [14.1] years; 47 797 [68.2%] female). After adjusting for sociodemographic, treatment-related, and clinical characteristics, the odds of reliable recovery were higher in patients who did not have any religious belief (odds ratio [OR], 1.34; 95% CI, 1.26-1.42) or self-reported Christian (OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.31-1.48) and other religion (OR, 1.25; 95% CI, 1.17-1.34) compared with Muslim patients. While treatment outcomes improved each year in all groups, Muslim patients remained least likely to improve and more likely to deteriorate. There were interactions between religion and ethnicity; in particular, Muslim patients of White or other ethnic backgrounds had worse outcomes than Muslim patients of Asian, Black, or mixed race ethnic backgrounds and compared with non-Muslim patients of those ethnicities.

In England, patients who identified as Muslim, and particularly those of White or other ethnicities, had poorer outcomes from psychological therapies for depression and anxiety disorders than patients who reported no religion or any other religion. This may be partly due to unmeasured characteristics that warrant further investigation (eg, nationality and asylum-seeking or refugee status). Best practice guidelines on working with people of minoritized ethnicities may inform some of the changes needed to reduce inequalities, but must address religious identity separate from ethnicity, as well as their intersections.

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