The Medical journal of Australia
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To describe the Beacon web portal, which lists and rates quality health websites, collects user characteristics and publishes user feedback; and to report summary data on Beacon's highest-rated (best evidence-based) sites for mental health. ⋯ There are a number of high-quality mental health websites on the internet, and Beacon provides a portal to enable the wide dissemination of these resources.
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Self-help delivered through online websites has been found to be beneficial for people with mental health problems, and consumers find internet support groups helpful. The Australian National University e-hub group delivers automated web interventions (BluePages, MoodGYM, e-couch) and an online bulletin board (BlueBoard) to the public for mental health self-help. The evidence-based web interventions require no direct therapist or other human involvement, while the bulletin board is moderated by trained consumers under the supervision of a clinical psychologist. ⋯ These services provide programs for prevention and early intervention and are particularly suited to people who prefer anonymous services, live in rural and remote areas, or have a preference for self-help methods, as well as for use in school and workplace settings. A range of best-practice measures have been developed and put in place to ensure high-quality service delivery. Evaluation and quality control are enabled by a database and associated software.
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Traditional clinic-based service delivery systems remain inaccessible to many Australians with mental health problems. If we are to substantially reduce the burden of mental illness, we need to develop more accessible, empowering and sustainable models of mental health care. E-health technologies have specific efficiencies and advantages in the domains of health promotion, prevention, early intervention and prolonged treatment. It is timely to use the best features of these technologies to start to build a more responsive and efficient mental health care system.
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Internet treatment programs for anxiety and depressive disorders are becoming available and offer cost-effective alternatives to face-to-face treatment with medication or cognitive behaviour therapy. The Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, offers internet treatment courses at the VirtualClinic (http://www.virtualclinic.org.au) for people who meet diagnostic criteria for major depression, social phobia, panic disorder and generalised anxiety disorder. ⋯ The four treatment programs that have been successfully evaluated in the VirtualClinic have been made available on a not-for-profit basis ($5 service fee) at the CRUfADclinic (http://www.crufadclinic.org) for general practitioners and other clinicians to use with their patients. These programs could be the first level of treatment in a stepped-care environment, where patients who do not benefit sufficiently could then receive face-to-face treatment from their clinician or be referred for specialist treatment.