Therapy with the click of a mouse

Subject: Therapy with the click of a mouse Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:00 pm

TOO shy to venture out of the house or too sensitive to criticism to face up to therapy?

People with social phobias, anxiety and depression are being treated over the internet, answering online questionnaires and emailing their therapist with their darkest thoughts and fears.

Psychiatrists and lecturers who have been running the pilot programs through St Vincent's Hospital, in Darlinghurst, say the treatment has been as successful as face-to-face therapy even though the therapists and patients never meet. The program could help free up psychiatrists to see more needy patients with severe mental illness.

"It's the way of the future and it's fascinating," a professor in psychiatry at the University of NSW, Gavin Andrews, said yesterday. "We are treating people we never see and yet we are getting equivalent results to our world-standard anxiety clinic where we see people face-to-face. And these people are maintaining their wellness. If you grew up before the age of the internet, it seems a shock to think you can be treated without seeing a doctor, but it is working."

Participants had reported finding online therapy easier because they did not have to go on waiting lists, take time off from work or travel to see a specialist, and many found it difficult to seek treatment because some symptoms of the condition included fearing criticism and judgment from others, Professor Andrews said.

Participants were required to complete six online lessons on cognitive behaviour therapy, homework and group discussions, but the course was far from impersonal, a senior lecturer at the University of NSW, Nick Titov, said.

"Initially I was sceptical, but we were able to build a positive working relationship with the patients and we got a flavour of each other," he said. "We don't have enough therapists and we have huge waiting lists. Many people on the lists don't necessarily need to see a therapist so this is a very good way of taking the strain off the system."

Dr Titov, whose work appears in this month's Australian And New Zealand Journal Of Psychiatry, said the program "empowered patients by allowing them to learn the skills needed to manage their lives".

LNK

Therapy with the click of a mouse

Therapy with the click of a mouse

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