About Mental Health Online
Mental Health Online is an internet-based treatment clinic for people with mental health problems.
Mental Health Online offers:
- High-quality information about high prevalence mental health disorders
- Assessment: The online assessment tool (ePASS) screens for 21 disorders. On completion of the assessment, consumers are provided with a feedback report summarising diagnoses / clinical problems and their severity.
- Treatment programs: After completing the assessment, consumers can register in a free 12-week online evidence-based treatment program that they can complete in their own time. They can register in a treatment program targeted at a single clinical disorder, or a multi-disorder program, which targets up to three disorders in a program that is also tailored to the client’s age and gender.
- Options for treatment delivery: Clients who enroll in a treatment program can choose to obtain optional additional support from a clinician trained in the delivery of online treatment (an eTherapist). Treatment modalities that are available include email, instant messaging, and video sessions.
Who is Mental Health Online for?
Users must be over 18 in order to utilize the Mental Health Online assessment and treatment services.
Treatment programs for the following disorders / clinical issues are available:
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Depression
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Panic disorder with or without Agoraphobia
- Made-4-Me, a tailored program (up to three of the above disorders can be delivered as a component of the Made-4-Me multi-disorder program).
Is there a cost to use Mental Health Online?
All of the services available via Mental Health Online are free, including the online assessment, access to self-help and therapist-assisted programs, and access to treatment that is under investigation as part of a research study.
How to access Mental Health Online’s services
Prior to utilising the online assessment and treatment services, users are required to register and create an account at https://www.mentalhealthonline.org.au/. To register for an account, users require a valid email address and a unique password.
Mental Health Online (MHO) offers health professionals free access to our eTherapy programs. Health care professionals are welcome to utilise our programs with their own clients or refer clients to MHO directly. Should a health care professional wish to gain access to our programs, they will need to fill out an online form here.
Mental Health Online Research and Evaluation
Before a program is made generally available on the site, its clinical effectiveness and ease of use is tested. Programs with proven efficacy are available to all consumers, while programs that are new to the site are initially only offered to clients who are willing to participate in a research study, and who are aware of the unproven effectiveness of the treatment.
A list of related research citations can be found on Mental Health Online’s website.
References
- Eysenbach, G., Titov, N., Andrews, G., Klein, B., Meyer, D., Austin, D. W., & Kyrios, M. (2011). Anxiety Online—A Virtual Clinic: Preliminary Outcomes Following Completion of Five Fully Automated Treatment Programs for Anxiety Disorders and Symptoms. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 13(4). doi: 10.2196/jmir.1918
