Beating Depression and Anxiety with Computer Programs
In Britain, computer programs to defeat anxiety and depression have been cleared for widespread use by the National Health Service. That means that millions of people suffering from depression, phobias and anxiety attacks will be able to get counseling by computer.
Primary care trusts, which treat 95% of mental health problems in Britain, are expected to have the programs available by the end of the year.
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has recommended that two computer programs be offered as treatment for mild and moderate depression, panic and phobia. The programs, Beating the Blues and FearFighter, are the first computer therapies to be promoted by the institute, the treatment watchdog that advises on best practice for the NHS. The cost of
implementation is expected to be around £100million.
The program, "Beating the Blues" has been shown in random trails to be as effective as regular psychotherapy for depression. The computer program has been shown to enhance other treatments as well. For patients who fear confrontation with a therapist, it is a far quicker treatment.
Rates of depression in the U.K. have soared in recent years, with an estimated six million Britons now affected. Of the 1.3 million sufferers of severe depression, only 10 per cent receive adequate therapy because of a reluctance to seek help and waits of up to a year to see a counselor. Depression costs the National Health Service more than £1 billion a year and accounts for £6 billion in lost productivity.
The programs work by asking questions that encourage patients to explore the conditions from which they are suffering and help them to identify coping strategies.
RESOURCES
You cannot access the new British computer therapy programs mentioned in this article from other countries. However, you can access this Australian program for anxiety and depression:
MoodGYM - Excellent (and free) web-based program of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy addressing depression and anxiety. (More accessible to those on higher-speed connections.) |
Author:
William Prescott is a health researcher and author. |
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