Randomised controlled trial of an online ultra-brief treatment for depression and anxiety for people with depression or anxiety

A two arm randomised controlled trial. Participants will be randomised to treatment or a waitlist control group. The treatment itself consists of a single online lesson which provides psychoeducation about the nature of anxiety and depression, recommendations for self-management of symptoms, and one week of optional contact with a clinician from the eCentreClinic. This intervention will also include practice exercises, illustrative case examples, and an additional resource on managing worry and problem solving. It is expected that participants will take 60 minutes to read the lesson, read the practice exercises and resource, and read the case stories. Additional skills practice is at the discretion of the participant. The materials consist of PDF and static powerpoint slides (i.e., no video or audio). Adherence will be measured by tracking the number of times a participant views or downloads each document. The psychologist will contact participants to arrange a telephone call within a week of this lesson being released. Participants will be able to speak over the phone with the psychologist within a week of the participant viewing the lesson (i.e., this contact is not limited to the week that the treatment becomes available to accommodate participant availability). There is no time limit to this telephone consult or private messages, although it is expected that phone consults will be 20-30 minutes long. The purpose of this contact is to reinforce the lesson content, support the participant to use the skills, and answer any questions they may have. Additional contact outside this week will be made if participants indicate that they are at risk of suicide/ self-harm or are experiencing technical difficulties.