Development of an online intervention for bipolar disorder. www.moodswings.net.au
- Authors: Lauder, Sue , Chester, Andrea , Castle, David , Dodd, Seetal , Berk, Lesley , Klein, Britt , Austin, David , Gilbert, Monica , Chamberlain, James , Murray, Greg , White, Carolynne , Piterman, Leon , Berk, Michael
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Psychology, Health and Medicine Vol. 18, no. 2 (2013), p. 155-165
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: We describe the development process and completed structure, of a self-help online intervention for bipolar disorder, known as MoodSwings (www.moodswings.net.au). The MoodSwings program was adapted as an Internet intervention from an efficacious and validated face-to-face, group-based psychosocial intervention. The adaptation was created by a psychologist, who had previously been involved with the validation of the face-to-face program, in collaboration with website designers. The project was conducted under the supervision of a team of clinician researchers. The website is available at no cost to registered participants. Self-help modules are accessed sequentially. Other features include a mood diary and a moderated discussion board. There has been an average of 1,475,135 hits on the site annually (2008 and 2009), with some 7400 unique visitors each year. A randomised controlled trial based on this program has been completed. Many people with bipolar disorder are accepting of the Internet as a source of treatment and, once engaged, show acceptable retention rates. The Internet appears to be a viable means of delivering psychosocial self-help strategies. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.
Help-seeking by rural residents for mental health problems: The importance of agrarian values
- Authors: Judd, Fiona , Jackson, Henry , Komiti, Angela , Murray, Greg , Fraser, Caitlin , Grieve, Aaron , Gomez, Rapson
- Date: 2006
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry Vol. 40, no. 9 (2006), p. 769-776
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objective: To examine the role of stoicism, self-efficacy and perceived stigma in predicting help-seeking by rural residents, for mental health problems. Method: A cross-sectional community survey was conducted with a sample of 467 rural residents (58% female), who completed self-report questionnaires assessing current levels of symptomatology, disability, perceived stigma, self-efficacy, stoicism, attitudes towards and experience of seeking help for psychological problems. Results: Overall, 7.6% (n = 129) of respondents had sought help from a general practitioner and/or mental health professional for psychological problems or a mental health issue. More women than men reported having sought such help. Lifetime help-seeking for a psychological problem or mental health issue was positively associated with higher levels of distress and lower levels of stoicism and, to a lesser extent, lower levels of self-efficacy. Conclusions: Efforts to improve help-seeking by rural residents for mental health problems should focus on understanding and addressing attitudes, such as stoicism which act as barriers to help-seeking. © 2006 The Authors; Journal compilation © 2006 The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists.
- Description: C1
- Description: 2003002045
Lessons learned from delivering an internet intervention for insomnia in an Australian public hospital outpatient setting
- Authors: Meaklim, Hailey , Abbott, Jo-Anne , Kennedy, Gerard , Murray, Greg , Klein, Britt , Rehm, Imogen
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian Psychologist Vol. 54, no. 3 (2019), p. 225-234
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Objectives: This study examined the feasibility of delivering an online cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia intervention (Sleep-e) within an Australian public hospital outpatient insomnia clinic. Method: This study was conducted as an open trial pilot study. Fifty-two patients waiting for clinic treatment were invited to participate, with ten commencing and six completing the 7-week internet intervention. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires regarding their demographic information, sleep and insomnia symptoms, and provided feedback about the program. Exclusion criteria were minimal, and the study allowed for participants to have other health, psychiatric, and sleep disorder co-morbidities. Results: Post-program satisfaction results suggested that Sleep-e was easy to use; participants were satisfied with it; and found it beneficial in improving sleep. Paired samples t tests for the intention-to-treat sample indicated reductions in participants' insomnia severity (p = 0.02) and sleep onset latency (p = 0.04) from pre- to post-program. However, a larger sample is needed to generalise the results to the wider population. Conclusion: The findings support Sleep-e as a helpful treatment for insomnia in a public hospital outpatient population for at least a subgroup of patients. However, significant lessons were learned regarding the importance of educating health care providers and patients about novel models of internet service delivery. Potential models of adaptive or blended stepped-care are discussed to facilitate program implementation. Future research should identify how to implement internet interventions more effectively in public health settings to take advantage of their potential to improve clinical efficiency.
Training postgraduate psychology students to deliver psychological services online
- Authors: Shandley, Kerrie , Klein, Britt , Kyrios, Michael , Austin, David , Ciechomski, Lisa , Murray, Greg
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australian psychologist Vol. 46, no. 2 (2011), p. 120-125
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Information and communication technologies are increasingly being used to remotely deliver psychological services. This delivery method confers clear advantages to both client and therapist, including the accessibility of services by otherwise unserved populations and cost-effective treatment. Remote services can be delivered in a real-time or delayed manner, providing clients with a wealth of therapy options not previously available. The proliferation of these services has outstripped the development and implementation of all but the most rudimentary of regulatory frameworks, potentially exposing clients to substandard psychological services. Integrating mandatory training on the delivery of online psychological services into accredited postgraduate psychology courses would aid in addressing this issue. The purpose of this article is to outline issues of consideration in the development and implementation of such a training programme. An online etherapy training programme developed by Swinburne University's National eTherapy Centre will be used as an example throughout.