Effective treatments a click away

The internet is playing an increasingly important role in the delivery of self-help treatments for mental disorders. But are such programs effective? Somewhat surprisingly, the answer would appear to be yes. In a recent systematic review of 15 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of preventive or treatment internet interventions for mental disorders and related conditions, we found consistent evidence that internet programs are efficacious (Griffiths & Christensen, 2006). In fact, only two of the studies failed to report a significant intervention effect relative to control. A further eight RCTs (including one follow up study) have been published since the cut-off date for the 2006 review. All have demonstrated positive results. Significantly, internet programs have been demonstrated to be helpful in treating or reducing risk factors for a range of different mental health conditions. These include depression (2 studies, 3 programs), anxiety (7 studies plus 1 follow-up, 4 programs), stress (2 studies - one involving people with schizophrenia, 2 programs), insomnia (1 study, 1 program), alcohol misuse (2 studies, 2 programs), headache (2 studies, 1 program), encopresis (1 study, 1 program) and eating disorder (3 studies, 1 program). Of the 15 programs of demonstrated efficacy for mental health problems, four are accessible in their entirety to the public at no cost to the user. These include the depression interventions ODIN, MoodGYM, and BluePages Depression Information, and the Online Anxiety Prevention Program (OAP). The interested clinician may find the descriptions of these programs in Table 1 of interest. A key challenge for future research will be to investigate the utility of these programs as an adjunct to clinical practice.