The digital mental health landscape is constantly growing the changing, and it can be difficult to keep up, especially for time-poor health professionals. Fortunately, at eMHPrac we are focused on staying up to date with all the latest research and service changes. Here is a snapshot of some of the major changes to the digital mental health landscape in the last six months.
New Services
In the last six months, a few new services have popped up. Here are some of the new services we’ve been looking at and added to our Service Directory.
Bunyarabugalma Youth
Available on Google Play and App Store
Social and Emotional Wellbeing app developed with and by young Indigenous People (12-25yrs) on Bunjalung Country (Murwillumbah and Tweed) to strengthen wellbeing.
Clearly Me
https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/clearlyme/
Self-guided app for young people (12-17yrs) providing bite-sized CBT skills, coping strategies and mood tracking to support low mood, negative thoughts, low motivation and difficulties relaxing.
Wada Wanti: Lead the Ice Alone
Interactive modules to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People who use methamphetamine (ice) to cut down or stop using.
Strong Spirit Strong Mind
https://strongspiritstrongmind.com.au/
An online hub promoting Aboriginal culture as central for strengthening social and emotional wellbeing, and reducing harm from alcohol and other drug use.
Family Connect
https://www.familyconnect.org.au/
Brief online tool teaching listening, appreciation, emotional and self-responsibility communication skills for children and their parents and caregivers.
eCliPSE
Portal to access online screening tools, craving management tools and self-guided courses for people (16yrs+) with co-occurring mental health and substance use problems.
AIMhi-Y
Available on Google Play and App Store
An app developed on the lands of the Larrakia and Arrernte People for young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People (12-25yrs) at risk of distress and suicide.
Updates to Existing Services
Digital mental health services are constantly developing and updating their offerings. The following services all released updates in the last six months.
My QuitBuddy
Available on Google Play and App Store
An app to help people quit smoking or vaping, providing support to overcome cravings, track symptoms and progress, and link with an online community. The app has been updated with new features including support for quitting vaping as well as smoking, and more avenues for support.
THIS WAY UP
Self-guided or own-clinician-supported screening and psychological treatment and wellbeing programs for teens (12-17yrs) with anxiety/depression and adults with depression, anxiety disorders, OCD, PTSD, Insomnia or chronic pain. THIS WAY UP have updated their Clinician Portal with several enhancements designed to improve health professionals’ experience.
MOST
Available on Google Play and App Store
Peer and professional webchat support service with modules to help young people (12-25yrs) with depression, anxiety, or sleep problems. Available through participating youth mental health services in Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Central Territory and Western Australia. MOST is now available for independent registration to young people in Queensland and Victoria.
Discontinued Services
There are many reasons a service may be discontinued, such as loss of funding and technological changes. Unfortunately, we have had to say goodbye to the following services in the last six months.
- Heads Up
- My Business Health
Digital Mental Health Safety and Quality Standards
The Digital Mental Health Safety and Quality Standards are a national standard to assess the quality, care and safety of Australian digital mental health services. They include 59 actions related to clinical and technical aspects of digital mental health services, with the aim of improving the quality of service provision and protecting users from harm.
The following services have received accreditation with the standards in the last six months:
- Blue Knot Helpline
- Butterfly Foundation
- Canteen Connect
- Griefline
- NewAccess
- Parenting Through Cancer
Professional Development for Digital Mental Health Use
The Black Dog Institute Health Professional Resource and Education Hub is a great space to access professional development resources. Registrants to the hub can access live and recorded evidence-based webinars sharing information, tools and insights into using digital mental health in practice.
In the last six months, they have released 7 new webinars which can now be accessed at any time including:
- eCBT for adolescents with insomnia
- eCBT for adolescents with depressive symptoms
- How to be a Good Ally to First Nations Peoples
- The Evidence for Using Online Mental Health Treatment Programs
- Online Experiences and Adolescent Mental Health
- How online resources are changing mental health care around the world
- SMS4dads
WellMob are constantly reviewing and adding new resources to their website to bring health workers the best digital mental health resources made for and by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This year the WellMob team have added almost 58 social and emotional wellbeing resources to their library of over 536 online resources.
The WellMob website also includes a series of resource sheets for workers, providing short cuts to the best resources for common wellbeing issues to use with clients and patients, families, communities and carers. In the last six months WellMob have updated the full suite of resources sheets for workers and released three new resource sheets:
- Self-care resources
- Vaping resources
- Workplace wellbeing resources
The new Menzies School of Health Research Stay Strong website has just been launched, designed to meet the diverse needs of First Nations People and non-Indigenous workers to guide wellbeing yarning and build relationships. This platform, created through a collaborative co-design process, reflects community voices and needs.
Explore the new website with tailored user journeys for ‘Mob’. ‘Young Mob’, and ‘Workers’. Each pathway provides connects users with relevant and accessible Menzies Stay Strong resources, offering mental health and wellbeing support.
- Mob: cultural content, community stories, and support services.
- Young Mob: educational videos, wellbeing tips, and youth resources.
- Workers: professional development materials, research papers, and community support tools.
The last 6 months saw the release of 6 new episodes of the Digital Mental Health Musings Podcast – an eMHPrac podcast brining listeners the latest news and personal stories about digital mental health. In each episode clinical psychologist and host Dr Tania McMahon is joined by experts from across the mental health profession to shed light on the practical ways digital health can help your patients or clients.
Listen to the latest episodes or catch up on past episodes here:
- S4E3 | Digital Mental Health and the power of personal stories: On the Ground with Diane Cass
- S4E4 | Dr Mim Weber on deep listening and becoming better allies to First Nations clients and colleagues
- S4E5 | Momentum: a new era in personalised digital mental healthcare for young people
- S4E6 | How digital mental health can help strengthen client-practitioner relationships: On the Ground with Dr Bianca Cannon
- S4E7 | Breaking the cycle of stuck thinking with Mello
- S4E8 | Season Finale: A look back on 2024
On Our Reading Radar
At eMHPrac we like to keep our finger on the pulse of the latest research on digital mental health. We saw continued exploration of the efficacy of digital mental health resources, especially for younger Australians, and how they can work in practice. The following papers were on our reading radar in the last six months.
Reviews
The following reviews and meta-analyses were published from June to November 2024.
- Efficacy of eHealth Versus In-Person Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Equivalence
- A systematic review and meta analysis on digital mental health interventions in inpatient settings
- Behavior Change Techniques Within Digital Interventions for the Treatment of Eating Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
- Application of Positive Psychology in Digital Interventions for Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Controlled Trials
- A systematic review of predictors and moderators of treatment outcomes in internet- and mobile-based interventions for depression
- Internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy for affective disorders, anxiety disorders and somatic conditions: An updated systematic umbrella review
- Exploring the Role of Mobile Apps for Insomnia in Depression: Systematic Review
Publications on Australian Digital Mental Health and listed services
The following publications highlight recent advancements in Australian digital mental health or feature research on listed services:
Want to get hear more about the basics of research evidence for digital mental health? Check out our new resource bringing you a brief summary of the evidence behind digital mental health in practice.
This list of services is for information purposes only – a clinician should thoroughly evaluate a service before recommending it to a client. This list is not exhaustive and represents a selection of resources that can be found on eMHPrac’s website.
To find out more, please visit https://www.emhprac.org.au/ or for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing tools visit https://wellmob.org.au/.
eMHPrac provides education, training, and guidance to health practitioners and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers around digital mental health.
For consumers wanting digital mental health support, please visit the Head to Health portal https://www.headtohealth.gov.au/.
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