In the first phase of the Internet in the 1990s, we witnessed how it broke down mental health barriers by providing individuals with information about mental disorders and treatment options. Before 1990 or so, the only way to look up the “official” symptoms for a disorder was either to get to a local library that had a copy of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, or ask a mental health professional or advocacy group about the symptoms (and hope they don’t leave out anything).
But the Internet broke down the arbitrary wall — that this information was somehow “special” and shouldn’t be given to people directly. People suddenly could learn about depression, or anxiety, or ADHD on their own without ever leaving their home. With greater education comes greater awareness of these concerns, and hopefully more people seeking treatment when the problem significantly interferes or impacts their life.
In the past decade, we’ve seen the rise of the second phase of the online mental health revolution — interactive self-help programs that can help alleviate the symptoms of significant mental health concerns. Online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one such intervention and the one used by a recent study. Could online CBT be just as effective as regular CBT to treat a common anxiety concern, panic disorder (with or without agoraphobia)?
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probably would be really good for Agoraphobic patients who can’t even leave their house easily. Also, perhaps after the initial internet treatment they will be empowered and have recovered enough to enter traditional psychotherapy. I think at some point traditional psychotherapy should be utilized for serious mental health problems like Panic Disorder.
There is actually a company called AbilTo that offers exactly this; an online CBT program for Panic Disorder. Their program is a set 8 weeks and provides clients with a therapist and a behavioral coach with whom they meet once a week face-to-face using online video conferencing. Its not an online self help program, though, because you meet with real therapists and coaches. The program does follow a sequence, and there is a manual, so its not like just going to individual therapy sessions that may or may not help.
Its great because as Lynn said, people who are agoraphobic and may not want to leave their houses. With this program, they don’t ever have to, and thus their attendance rates will be higher than if they participated in more traditional, in-person therapy. With higher attendance rates, obviously, comes a better chance for faster improvement.
There’s more about their Panic Disorder program, and their other online CBT-based programs at http://www.abilto.com
he biggest question about agoraphobia is not able to lead a normal life, constantly afraid of the next attack.
Best advice I’ve seen so far for minimizing withdrawal comes from the Icarus project. They recommend no more than at 10% cut off your current dosage, so that there would be minimal harm.