E-therapy

Recent findings may revolutionise the way psychotherapists treat their patients. Research at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) and St Vincent's Hospital has shown online e-therapy is just as effective as face-to-face treatments for a wide range of common psychological disorders.

Depression, anxiety and social phobias are amongst conditions that respond well to therapist-assisted internet-based treatment programs, the researchers found. In all cases, clinical trial participants recorded recovery rates comparable to those in face-to-face therapy.

Furthermore, online e-therapy sessions were significantly more cost-effective than traditional treatments, and in some cases required only a quarter of the amount of clinician time.

Separate randomised controlled trials have now been conducted targeting depression (the Sadness program), generalised anxiety disorder (Worry program) and social phobias (Shyness program). These studies were undertaken by Professor Gavin Andrews and Dr Nick Titov, from UNSW's School of Psychiatry and Sydney's St Vincent's Hospital.

A paper outlining the results of one of the latest generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) trials appeared recently in the Australian and New Zealand journal of Psychiatry.

After completing the various programs, more than 70 per cent of participants diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder no longer met that diagnostic criteria.

In the social phobia program, 85 per cent of participants recorded good improvement in their scores on measures of social phobia, and more than a third of the depressed trial participants no longer met the DSM-IV criteria to be diagnosed as clinically depressed.

Whilst internet treatment such as e-therapy is unlikely to ever completely replace face-to-face therapies, it has the potential to significantly enhance the capacity of existing services.

In one of the latest GAD trials, a clinical psychologist spent just two hours by email with each patient over 10 weeks of the program. This is around a quarter of the time a clinician would normally spend carrying out traditional face-to-face treatments.

Dr Titov said the online programs represented a new cost-effective way of reaching people who are otherwise unable to access treatments. "Only 35 per cent of people with anxiety or depression seek treatment over a 12-month period, and only one in 10 sees a psychologist," he said. "Internet-based programs may play an important role in increasing those numbers."

In addition to the above factors, lead times for face to face appointments can be several weeks, we are all aware of the pace of modern day life and online therapy can provide fast help in an instant world.