An investigation of the effectiveness of internet Cognitive Behaviour Therapy in tertiary students experiencing depression and anxiety as a part of a stepped care student counselling service.

Status

Completed

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ANZCTR

Registry ID

ACTRN12614001099617

Enrollment

1080

Registered

2014-10-16

Start date

2014-10-24

Completion date

2018-09-30

Last updated

2021-07-05

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

None listed

Brief summary

The proposed project seeks to examine the acceptability, efficacy and feasibility of low-intensity CBT-based treatment program, the UniWellbeing Course, in reducing symptoms of stress, anxiety, low mood and depression in tertiary students attending Macquarie University. The UniWellbeing Course is based on the already established and efficacious Wellbeing and Mood Mechanic Courses (e.g., Titov et al., 2013, PLOS One; Johnston, et al., 2014, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry).

Interventions

All participants will complete 4 lessons of an internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy (iCBT) program, the UniWellbeing Course, focusing on the management of stress, anxiety, low mood and depression. All 4 Lessons will be administered via the internet and one lesson will be completed every 7 to 10 days. Each lesson will take about 15 minutes to complete. Participants will also have access to summaries of each lesson, and will read anonymous stories about others with anxiety and depression, taking a further 20 minutes per summary. All participants will also receive automatic email and weekly reminder phone calls by a psychologist. The duration of the reminder emails and phone calls is expected to be 5-10 minutes per week. The duration of the program is 5 weeks. Study questionnaires will be administered at pre-treatment, post-treatment and then 3-months post-treatment. These questionnaires will take about 5 minutes to complete.

Study design

Allocation

Non-randomised trial

Intervention model

Single group

Primary purpose

Treatment

Masking

Open (masking not used)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to No maximum

Healthy volunteers

Inclusion criteria

- Aged 18+ - Who are either experience anxiety and/or depression or want to participate in a course to learn to manage these conditions. - Enrolled student at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

Exclusion criteria

- Current intention or plans concerning suicide - Recent history of suicide attempts (i.e., within last 12 months)

Outcome results