Free online treatment for OCD sufferers

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) sufferers will be able to access free online treatment as part of a National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funded trial at Swinburne University.

The trial, which runs over 12 weeks, will be delivered through Anxiety Online, an online assessment and treatment clinic run by Swinburne's National eTherapy Centre (NeTC).

Over the last two years researchers at the NeTC have shown that online treatment for a range of anxiety disorders, including social anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, can be as effective as face-to-face therapy.

They hope that the NHMRC trial will follow this trend and demonstrate that online therapy is an effective form of treatment for OCD.

Professor Mike Kyrios who is heading up the trial said that online therapy has huge potential to improve the accessibility of effective mental health treatments to sufferers throughout Australia.

"OCD is actually quite prevalent in our society, with one in 36 Australians suffering from OCD at some point in their lives. Over half of these people will also experience depression."

"However the sad fact is that many of these people either don't have access to effective mental health treatments or aren't comfortable seeking help."

Kyrios expects the service to be used by a high proportion of people from remote and regional Australia who don't have adequate access to mental health services.

"The reality is that in the bush, access to face-to-face specialist services is severely restricted due to availability," he said.

He also said that the service will appeal to people who aren't comfortable visiting a therapist face-to-face. "Our experiences to date suggest that many people opt for online treatment to avoid the social stigma associated with mental illness. It is also often more convenient."

Participants in the trial will be randomly assigned to one of two groups, those undertaking a cognitive behavioural treatment program called Systematic Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Phenomena or OCD-STOP, and those completing Progressive Relaxation Training. Irrespective of which program they are assigned, all individuals will be given the opportunity to take the alternative treatment at no cost.

They will be given a unique login and password and after an initial online assessment will be able to access a free 12-week program supported by a trained ‘eTherapist' who will conduct email sessions with the participant on a weekly basis.

The trial, being funded by a $320,000 grant from the NHMRC, will provide free treatment for over 200 OCD sufferers throughout Australia.