Digital mental health – boost for services

Brighter days

HSE partners with SilverCloud Health to roll out digital mental health initiative nationally, targeting depression and anxiety

In April, HSE Mental Health announced a partnership with digital health company, SilverCloud Health, the leading provider of evidence-based online mental health and behavioural healthcare solutions, to launch a national rollout of digital mental health therapy to address depression and anxiety in

Ireland.

This online Cognitive Therapy (CBT) service is currently available to receive referrals from Primary Care Psychology, the National Counselling Service, Jigsaw and GPs across Ireland, enabling people to start accessing supports within 24 hours.

Online CBT has been shown to have a positive impact on reducing demand for face-to-face services.

The HSE’s primary care psychology service has been working with SilverCloud for over 18 months on a targeted pilot basis to deliver the SilverCloud Health platform and programmes for depression and anxiety treatments. As a result of making signifi cant developments with uptake and acceptance in providing the treatments of this pilot, the

HSE has now extended the service nationally and, in addition, commissioned SilverCloud

Health clinical services to provide not just the platform and programmes but also the clinical support for people accessing the service.

As part of the HSE’s digital mental health strategy and supported by trained clinical sta , the service user journey is quick and easy. Once referred, the platform allows you access to either ‘Space from Depression’ or ‘Space from Anxiety’ programmes within 24 hours.

Assistant National Director – HSE Mental Health Operations Jim Ryan said “We have seen the positive impact digital mental health supports have had in the last 18 months, particularly in opening up access to services. Many people can receive e ective treatment for mental health di culties at Primary Care level and we know that early intervention can make a huge di erence. Programmes like SilverCloud, with clinical oversight, will provide timely support to people who might otherwise have to wait for a face-to-face consultation, helping to ensure the right level of support is provided, at the right time. In line with our National Mental Health Policy, Sharing the Vision, we will continue to invest in these areas to improve accessibility for appropriate supports and make it easier for our Primary Care Psychologists, Counselling in Primary Care Teams and other primary care workers providing services on our behalf such as Jigsaw, to refer people on to another e ective support option in a more e cient way.”

Dr Brian Osborne, Assistant Medical Director, Irish College of General Practitioners, said “This new e-platform for Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a welcome development. As GPs, we are at the frontline of mental health care in the community and in primary care. This platform o ers another support for GPs to o er to their patients, at a time when mental health services are in increasing demand. Face-to-face interaction with GPs has gradually returned as the COVID-19 pandemic recedes in Ireland. E-health platforms such as this work best with a mix of face-to-face guidance combined with online supports”

Speaking on the partnership Derek Richards, Chief Science O cer of SilverCloud Health, says “We know from research that digitally delivered therapy with clinical guidance works very well. We have been working closely with the HSE as they make the best evidence-based mental health supports available to people across Ireland, and SilverCloud’s digitallydelivered therapy is one of these. On time and on demand access to evidence-based digital therapy will positively impact people across Ireland, especially now, as GPs and other health services are under pressure in their communities due to Covid-19”.

The SilverCloud platform provides internet-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (iCBT) and other proven methods to help people manage mental health and wellbeing. Over 600,000 people have been helped through over 300 organisations using the platform’s digital therapy programmes, equating to the delivery of over two million hours of online therapy.