This Way Up offers 12 internet-based CBT treatment programs covering most common psychological difficulties, including depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, post-traumatic stress, chronic pain, perinatal mental health, and a program for teenagers. Programs consist of 3–8 structured lessons.
The treatment programs are free with a prescription from a healthcare professional. Australian residents can also access them without a prescription for a fee, and can use four additional wellbeing programs (stress management, insomnia, mindfulness, and student wellbeing) free of charge; those four are not available outside Australia.
Programs
- Depression: 6 lessons for persistent sadness, low motivation, irritability, tiredness, and low mood.
- Panic: 6 lessons for managing panic attacks and fear of future attacks.
- Social Anxiety: 6 lessons for excessive shyness, fear of judgement, and anxiety in social situations.
- Anxiety and Depression: 6 lessons for combined persistent anxiety, nervousness, and low mood.
- OCD: 6 lessons for unwanted thoughts and hard-to-control repetitive behaviours.
- Post Traumatic Stress: 8 lessons for flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety, or low mood after a traumatic event.
- Generalised Anxiety: 6 lessons for persistent, hard-to-control worry and chronic unease.
- Health Anxiety: 6 lessons for excessive worry about health and repetitive self-checking behaviours.
- Chronic Pain: 8 lessons of practical strategies for coping with chronic pain and improving mobility and wellbeing.
- Mindfulness-Enhanced CBT: 6 lessons combining CBT strategies with mindfulness skills and meditation training.
- Pregnancy and Postnatal Mental Health: 3-lesson programs for anxiety, worry, and low mood during pregnancy and postpartum.
- Teen Worry and Sadness: 6 lessons helping young people aged 12–17 manage stress, anxiety, and low mood.
Evidence
Efficacy has been evaluated in numerous randomized controlled trials and pretest–posttest studies across nearly all programs.
Depression program:
- Randomized controlled trial (2009): Clinician-Assisted Internet-Based Treatment Is Effective For Depression: Randomized Controlled Trial, N = 20. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2012): A Clinical Audit of Changes in Suicide Ideas with Internet Treatment for Depression, N = 299. link
Panic program:
- Randomized controlled trial (2010): Clinician-Assisted Internet-Based Treatment Is Effective for Panic: A Randomized Controlled Trial, N = 59. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2018): Internet Cognitive–Behavioural Treatment for Panic Disorder: Randomised Controlled Trial and Evidence of Effectiveness in Primary Care, N = 63. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2020): Intensive One-Week Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia: A Pilot Study, N = 10. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2021): Internet-Delivered Exposure Therapy Versus Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Panic Disorder: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial, N = 69. link
Social Anxiety program:
- Randomized controlled trial (2008): Shyness 1: Distance Treatment of Social Phobia Over the Internet, N = 105. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2008): Shyness 2: Treating Social Phobia Online: Replication and Extension, N = 88. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2008): Shyness Programme: Longer Term Benefits, Cost-Effectiveness, And Acceptability, N = 193. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2008): Shyness 3: Randomized Controlled Trial of Guided Versus Unguided Internet-Based CBT For Social Phobia, N = 98. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2009): Shyness 5: The Clinical Effectiveness of Internet-Based Clinician-Assisted Treatment of Social Phobia, N = 17. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2009): Internet Treatment for Social Phobia Reduces Comorbidity, N = 211. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2009): Randomized Controlled Trial of Web-Based Treatment of Social Phobia Without Clinician Guidance, N = 163. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2009): An RCT Comparing Effect of Two Types of Support on Severity of Symptoms for People Completing Internet-Based Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Social Phobia, N = 82. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2021): A Pilot Study of Intensive 7-Day Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Social Anxiety Disorder, N = 16. link
Anxiety and Depression program:
- Randomized controlled trial (2013): Internet Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Mixed Anxiety and Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial and Evidence of Effectiveness in Primary Care, N = 99. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2014): Effectiveness of transdiagnostic internet cognitive behavioural treatment for mixed anxiety and depression in primary care, N = 707. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2021): The Uptake and Effectiveness of Online Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression During COVID-19, N = 6,132. link
OCD program:
- Randomized controlled trial (2014): Internet Cognitive Behavioural Treatment for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: A Randomised Controlled Trial, N = 67. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2020): Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Treating Symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder in Routine Care, N = 309. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2021): COVID-19 related differences in the uptake and effects of internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy for symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder, N = 1,343. link
Post Traumatic Stress program:
- Randomized controlled trial (2022): Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomised Controlled Trial and Outcomes in Routine Care, N = 40. link
Generalised Anxiety program:
- Randomized controlled trial (2009): Clinician-assisted internet treatment is effective for generalized anxiety disorder: randomized controlled trial, N = 48. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2010): Internet treatment for generalized anxiety disorder: a randomized controlled trial comparing clinician vs. technician assistance, N = 150. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2012): The Effectiveness of Internet Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Clinical Practice, N = 588. link
Health Anxiety program:
- Randomized controlled trial (2018): Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Versus Psychoeducation Control for Illness Anxiety Disorder and Somatic Symptom Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Trial, N = 86. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2018): The Impact of Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Health Anxiety on Cyberchondria, N = 82. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2020): The Effectiveness of Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Health Anxiety in Routine Care, N = 391. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2021): The Uptake and Outcomes of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Health Anxiety Symptoms During The COVID-19 Pandemic, N = 235. link
Chronic Pain program:
- Pretest–posttest design (2018): Pilot Trial of the Reboot Online Program: An Internet-Delivered, Multidisciplinary Pain Management Program for Chronic Pain, N = 20. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2019): Reboot Online: A Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing an Online Multidisciplinary Pain Management Program with Usual Care for Chronic Pain, N = 80. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2021): Evaluating Real-World Adherence and Effectiveness of the “Reboot Online” Program for the Management of Chronic Pain in Routine Care, N = 867. link
- Pretest–posttest design (2022): The Uptake and Effectiveness of a Multidisciplinary Online Program for Managing Chronic Pain before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic, N = 2,585. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2022): The Effect of Adjunct Telephone Support on Adherence and Outcomes of the Reboot Online Pain Management Program: Randomized Controlled Trial, N = 89. link
Mindfulness-Enhanced CBT program:
- Pretest–posttest design (2018): Online Mindfulness-Enhanced Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Anxiety and Depression: Outcomes of a Pilot Trial, N = 22. link
- Randomized controlled trial (2020): Transdiagnostic Internet-Delivered CBT And Mindfulness-Based Treatment for Depression and Anxiety: A Randomised Controlled Trial, N = 158. link
Perinatal Anxiety and Depression programs:
- Pretest–posttest design (2023): Online Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Maternal Antenatal and Postnatal Anxiety and Depression in Routine Care, N = 1,502. link
No studies were identified for the Teen Worry and Sadness program, which was adapted from the well-tested adult Anxiety and Depression program. Mental health experts were involved in the development of the programs.