The Interactive Well-Being Lab at the University of Sussex studies how people use interactive and online mental health information and self-help programs for common mental health problems and the impact of guided self-help programs on well-being.
We are running a number of projects exploring the development and delivery of computer-aided therapies in mental health, with a particular interest in the factors influencing the uptake, engagement and completion of empirically supported computer-aided therapy programs. We hope to use what we learn from our research to help inform the development and delivery of better treatment options for common mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and insomnia.
The Interactive Well Being Lab’s current projects include:
The role of the therapeutic relationship in computerised cognitive behavioural therapies
Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (cCBT) programs are designed to translate the evidence based tasks and techniques of CBT into an accessible, interactive, multimedia format, but it is less clear whether they also translate critical ‘common factors’ of therapy which may be necessary for engagement and associated with therapeutic outcomes. This research project explore the role of ‘common factors’ in cCBT and in particular the therapeutic alliance formed within the relational triangle between the cCBT program, program user and support worker. Turn on, tune in, don’t drop out: engaging people with computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT) programs. Internet interventions can offer significant benefits for the prevention and treatment of common mental health problems including anxiety and depression. Some internet interventions attract many users, but evidence to date suggests that a significant number of people may be unwilling to engage with internet interventions or having started, use them only very briefly. Identifying and overcoming the barriers to engagement and helping people to stick with internet interventions for long enough to achieve a sustainable benefit may be a key role for low-intensity (LI) practitioners. This project explores the challenges of engagement, adherence and attrition in relation to internet interventions and hopes to identify some possible solutions to these challenges. It draws on the evidence base for internet interventions; extrapolates from research on standalone computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (cCBT) programs and other self-help services; and looks at the implications for LI practitioners supporting clients to use internet interventions.
See Cavanagh, K. (2010) Turn on, tune in, (don’t) drop out: Engagement, adherence and attrition with internet based mental health interventions In J. Bennett Levy et al. (Eds.) Oxford Guide to Low Intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Oxford University Press Inc: New York. (p. 227 – 234)
Exploring Social Networks to Augment Computerised Therapies (ENACT).
The ENACT project aims to improve the uptake, adherence and completion rates of those referred to Computerised Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CCBT) interventions using the engaging power of online social network (OSN) platforms, social computer games and mobile technology. This research is a Healthcare Partnerships project in collaboration with colleagues at the Universities of Lincoln and Loughborough and Ultrasis plc and is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).
The Implementation of computerised cognitive behavioural therapies in a service user-led, third sector Self Help Clinic
In collaboration with Nic Seccombe and Nicky Lidbetter from Self Help Services (www.selfhelpservices.org.uk) this project evaluatates the implementation of a CCBT service by Self Help Services, a service user led, third sector organisation which delivers tier 2 services for anxiety and depression in Greater Manchester.