TILT – Therapeutic Innovations in Light of Technology
Research Review Report on the
2011 International Socie on Internet Intervention
A major gathering of researchers, practitioners and service providers took place in Sydney, Australia, earlier in 2011 organised by the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions (ISRII). Among numerous papers of interest – far too many to be adequately represented here – Gerhard Andersson of Linköping University and Karolinska Institute, Sweden, reported on the growing evidence base for Internet delivered CBT (iCBT) now supported by numerous Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs), most of which show equivalence with face-toface provision. While the body of research as a whole has not always influenced routine health provision policy to the extent that it should, Sweden now recommends iCBT as a treatment option for depression and anxiety, provided through state funding (this has been the case in the UK and some other countries for some time). Andersson’s own trial (Andersson, 2011) based on 463 patients with depression and 298 with panic disorder showed highly significant improvements for both groups comparing pre- and post- intervention data (effect sizes
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of 1.12 and 0.98 respectively – any effect size over 0.8 is usually considered a large effect). He concluded that Internet delivered CBT can be incorporated into routine mental health care effectively and, moreover, with low drop out rates. These findings were supported by other studies including, for example, a study of iCBT in a telephone crisis counselling service setting (Farrer et al, 2011), which reported that it led to decreased dangerous alcohol intake and better quality of life, as well as improved mental health literacy. Cavanagh et al (2011) tested the generalizability of existing research into the Beating the Blues computerised CBT programme to the context of a service-user led 3rd sector (nonprofit) setting, finding that 50% of those with significant levels of depression who completed just 2 or more sessions recovered in that time. Ebert et al (2011) reported on an RCT with 400 psychiatric patients that demonstrated the ability of Internet based care (which included email contact with a therapist, selfhelp materials, online symptom monitoring and an online support group) to enhance post treatment continuation of care across a range of diagnoses.