Internet therapy yields promising results

Psychologist Fredik Holländare has produced a doctoral dissertation at the School of Health and Medical Science at Örebro University that examines the effectiveness of internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) delivered as treatment for ongoing depression and preventing relapses. His results have indicated that the successful online process could allow councils to treat up to four times as many patients.

Hollandare is keen to stress that “The purpose of Internet-based treatment is not to replace traditional therapy, face to face, for those who need it. But for many people it is an equally good, even better, alternative, since they can choose their own time and place.” One of the key concepts for him is that in depression treatments need to be tailored to each individual case – the more treatments on offer, therefore, the better. The crux of CBT lies in the core principles that patients use to change their thought process – information that can be communicated just as well online.

Of the individuals who participated in the study, only 10 per cent experienced a relapse, compared with 38 per cent in the control group. The internet treatment still requires the support of personal therapist, but this takes up 2-2.5 hours worth of their professional time in comparison to a 45 minute face-to-face session every week for 10-15 weeks. This huge saving of resources and time – with what appears to be successful results – is excellent news for healthcare providers in the face of a shortage of trained CBT therapists and a rising number of diagnosed depression cases.

Click here to access the university website for more information.

Published: Wednesday, 28th September 2011 by Ellen Haggan