None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This study will pilot a novel model of care integrating face-to-face and online support (Moderated Online Social Therapy) for young people receiving specialist treatment for complex mental health disorders. The primary aims are to assess the feasibility, safety and acceptability of this model of care, with additional aims to assess changes in participants’ psychological and social outcomes and to assess the relationship between these outcomes and usage of eOrygen.MOST.
Interventions
This pilot tests a model of care wherein young people accessing specialist treatment for mental illness have access to a purpose-built online platform to use alongside regular face-to-face clinical appointments.
The online platform takes the form of Moderated Online Social Therapy (MOST), which includes:
1) 'Tracks' are discrete and brief comic-based therapy modules designed to present evidence-based therapy content in an engaging and interactive format, and focus on a specific topic (e.g. rumi
This pilot tests a model of care wherein young people accessing specialist treatment for mental illness have access to a purpose-built online platform to use alongside regular face-to-face clinical appointments. The online platform takes the form of Moderated Online Social Therapy (MOST), which includes: 1) 'Tracks' are discrete and brief comic-based therapy modules designed to present evidence-based therapy content in an engaging and interactive format, and focus on a specific topic (e.g. rumination, mindfulness, motivation). Interactive features include options to write personal reflections (visible to all users) and notes (not visible to other users) on certain activities within tracks, rate helpfulness of content, and save content to a personal ‘toolkit’. 2) ‘Guided Therapy Journeys’, which are collections of Tracks that can be completed in order and focus: on a) Depression; b) Anxiety; c) Social anxiety; and 4) Social Functioning. 2) 'Activities': Behavioural prompts to encourage application of therapy content (e.g. mindfulness, self-compassion) and utilise personal strengths in real-life scenarios. Most activities can be completed ‘offline’, though users may choose to integrate the social network (for example, asking a question in the social network to utilise strength of courage, or to overcome social anxiety). 3) Online social network ('The Community Newsfeed’) where users and peer workers can post text, pictures and video, comment on posts, and react to posts/comments using pre-set options (e.g. “Thinking of you”; “High five”) 4) Problem-solving forum ('Talk it Out') - designed to promote social self-efficacy and interpersonal problem solving - where users can suggest issues (e.g. how to deal with low self esteem) and discuss these in a moderated forum informed by evidence-based problem solving framework. 5) Web chat function where users can communicate with peer workers and their face-to-face clinician. Clinicians can recommend therapy content in chat and organise online check-ins between face-to-face sessions as needed. Each guided therapy journey includes 6-8 tracks. Tracks consist of 4-11 pages presenting specific therapy content (including activities, comics and written information) which each take a few minutes to complete. In total, a guided therapy journey takes 8-10 hours to complete. The eOrygen.MOST online platform is moderated by peer workers and mental health clinicians. Participants will have access to eOrygen.MOST for 3 months, during which time they can access the intervention as often as desired. It is at each user’s discretion how often they use the online platform, and which feature(s) they access when they log on, though their face-to-face clinician may recommend logging on at certain times/frequencies. All participants will complete an onboarding questionnaire to assess key strengths and presenting concerns. Based on responses, participants will be recommended a relevant therapy journey. Participants can also search for relevant therapy content using an explore function. Case managers can tailor a user’s pathway (e.g. re-order tracks or change to a different pathway).
Sponsors
Orygen
Study design
Allocation
Non-randomised trial
Intervention model
Single group
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
16 Years to 27 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
1. 16 to 27 years of age (inclusive); 2. Currently receiving treatment at Orygen with the Early Psychosis Prevention and Intervention (EPPIC) Clinic or Helping Young People Early (HYPE) Clinic, or receiving specialist mental health treatment at one of 3 participating community health services in peri-urban regions of North Western Melbourne, Australia. 3. Ability and willingness to nominate an emergency contact person, such as a close family member, who is aged 18 years or older. 4. Evidence of treatment response or reasonable remission, as judged by the treating clinician, resulting in the clinician believing that inclusion in the research project is unlikely to result in harm to the young person or other users.
Exclusion criteria
1. Intellectual disability that interferes with the likelihood of the participant receiving benefit from participation as judged by the treating clinician; 2. Inability to converse in, or read English. English does not have to be the young person’s primary language; 3. Poorly engaged in face-to-face treatment (i.e., irregular attendance at scheduled case management or medical review sessions, operationalised as less than 2 sessions attended in the past 6-weeks despite attempts to schedule appointments) or those approaching discharge (i.e., within approximately 8-12-weeks). 4. High degree of hostility and impulsivity, as judged by the treating clinician, resulting in the clinician believing that inclusion in the research project may result in harm to the young person or other users (i.e. through interactions in the social network).
Outcome results
None listed