--- title: Does online cognitive behavioral therapy help women with PMDD? description: Yes. Women who completed 8 weeks of online therapy had significantly greater improvements in functional impairment, mood, and everyday life. The improvements url: https://niyora.com/research/papers/internet-based-cognitive-behavioural-intervention-for-women-with-premenstrual-2019/ --- - [Niyora](https://niyora.com/) - [Research](https://niyora.com/research/) - [Library](https://niyora.com/research/library/) - Does online cognitive behavioral therapy help women with PMDD? Randomised trial, 2019 # Does online cognitive behavioral therapy help women with PMDD? Yes. Women who completed 8 weeks of online therapy had significantly greater improvements in functional impairment, mood, and everyday life. The improvements lasted for at least 6 months. Strong study design 174 women with PMDD recruited from newspaper advertisements, flyers, and social media ## What they did 174 women with PMDD were randomly assigned to either 8 weeks of therapist-guided online cognitive behavioral therapy or a waitlist (no treatment). They recorded symptoms daily in diaries before, after, and 6 months later. ## What they found The therapy group had significantly greater improvements compared to the waitlist group in functional impairment, psychological impairment, impact on everyday life, symptom intensity, and symptom disability. These improvements remained stable at the 6-month follow-up. Women with higher levels of active coping and lower stress levels showed the strongest improvements. ## What it means for you Online therapy can effectively reduce PMDD burden and the improvements last several months. A major limit is that this study compared therapy to no treatment rather than to other standard treatments for PMDD. Also, individual coping styles appear to matter, so this therapy may work better for some women than others. 174 Women in study 8 Weeks of therapy 6 Months improvement lasted ## About the study Original title Internet-Based Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention for Women with Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial Authors Weise C, Kaiser G, Janda C et al. Journal Psychotherapy and psychosomatics Year 2019 Study design Randomised trial Participants 88 What was tested Eight-week therapist-guided internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy Read the paper [doi.org/10.1159/000496237](https://doi.org/10.1159/000496237) ## Topics [Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pms/)[Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD)](https://niyora.com/research/topics/condition-pmdd/)[Low mood and depression](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-depression-mood/)[Cognition, concentration and memory](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-cognition/)[Stress](https://niyora.com/research/topics/symptom-stress/)[Cognitive behavioral therapy](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-cbt/)[Apps and digital interventions](https://niyora.com/research/topics/treatment-digital-health/)[Quality of life and daily functioning](https://niyora.com/research/topics/life-area-quality-of-life/) Research tells you what helps on average. Niyora helps on the day it hits. Calm down, see it another way, and decide what to say, with a PMS and PMDD app built by a doctor. ## Related studies Systematic review, 2026 Do digital tools and apps help reduce PMS and PMDD symptoms? Cohort study, 2022 What are PMS and PMDD and how should they be diagnosed and treated? Review, 2013 What treatments work best for PMDD? Randomised trial, 2026 Which works better for PMDD: cognitive-behavioral therapy or mindfulness-based cognitive therapy? Review, 2025 What causes PMDD and why is it hard to function? Randomised trial, 2022 Do hormone pills prevent suicidal thoughts from getting worse around menstruation? Ask AI about this page Copy prompt ChatGPT ↗ Claude ↗ Perplexity ↗ Google AI Mode ↗ Grok ↗