New home-based treatment program for anxious teens
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© iStockphoto.com/Duncan Walker |
Teenagers who experience negative feelings associated with anxiety will benefit from a new self-help program devised by a team at the Macquarie University Anxiety Research Unit (MUARU).
The Cool Teens CD-ROM is a home-based cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) program that helps users develop skills to cope better with feelings such as fear, worry, nervousness and shyness. The program uses text, audio, illustrations, cartoons and live video to deliver information, examples, activities and exercises.
Why self help therapy?
Approximately 10 per cent of young people have anxiety problems, with seven out of 10 not seeking professional help because of the stigma attached to it, issues of confidentiality, difficulty in accessing services or cost.
Cool Teens has adapted existing CBT methods and group based materials into a computer based form. By developing a home-based program, MUARU hopes that they can provide services for many more young people.
"Computerised self-help allows a degree of personal control and flexibility that is ideal for independent adolescents," says PhD student Mike Cunningham. "It may also be able to help reduce the stigma of receiving therapy for many users."
Clinical research trial
Following a small pilot program with six participants, a three-year clinical research trial with 150 young people between the ages of 14 and 18 is being conducted.
Each participant will be involved in 12 weeks of therapy. "Initially we will assess their anxiety levels and how much this problem is interfering with their lives," explains Cunningham. "They will use the CD-ROM for 12 weeks and we will then run the same tests to see if using the program has reduced their anxiety levels."
The trial is open to young people aged between 14 and 18 years in any part of Australia who would like help to manage their anxiety and have access to a computer. During the trial participants will be contacted periodically by a clinical psychologist. The longer-term aim is to integrate added motivational and feedback components to allow the CD to be used as a pure self-help program.
Cool Teens
Cool Teens consists of eight modules, each one taking 15 - 30 minutes to complete. Users are encouraged to undertake a module each week or as 'in and out' treatment when required.
"Modules contain information, interactive exercises, hypothetical scenarios and case studies," Cunningham explains. "They also have practice tasks that the user performs outside of the time they spend on the computer program."
When the user first goes into the program they complete a brief anxiety questionnaire which tracks when anxiety is experienced. It measures interference in school life, home life, social life, leisure and day to day activities. Users complete the questionnaire on a weekly basis and they are able to track and view their progress.
"Cool Teens is a resource that you can keep using," says Cunningham. "If your anxiety has a spike six months down the track, you can revisit the program. The most important thing is that users keep implementing the techniques they learn into their everyday lives."
For further information or to apply to participate in the clinical research trial email, cool.teens@psy.mq.edu.au or visit www.psy.mq.edu.au/MUARU/