Jennifer Matthews: It's a call Korte Brueckmann looks forward to getting. Someone he can really talk to.

Korte Brueckmann: Sometimes I feel like I've almost climbed out of the hole, and then I slide back down.

Jennifer Matthews: This is therapy. New research from Group Health Cooperative shows it may be just the call people like Korte need.

Dr. Gregory Simon: We were able to reach out to people much better than we could in person, and that's a real difference.

Jennifer Matthews: 600 People in a recent study all got the usual care for depression from a family doctor. 80 percent of those who also received phone therapy said their depression was much improved. Only 55 percent of those who just got the standard care experienced that improvement.

Korte Brueckmann: Finally collapsed into a hole so deep that I really couldn't leave the house."

Jennifer Matthews: But Korte did get phone therapy. He's even able to get out of the house now.

Korte Brueckmann: I think it helped a lot in keeping me focused on dealing with what was happening to me rather than wallowing in it.

Jennifer Matthews: Phone therapy isn't necessarily better than face-to- face help. But because of the stigma, the distance to a clinic, or the depression itself, it may be the only way to get help at all.

Dr. Gregory Simon: It's the same as a pill doesn't work if you don't take it and a therapist doesn't help if you don't show up.

Jennifer Matthews: For Korte, it was his lifeline. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.