The Medical journal of Australia
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To describe the Beacon web portal, which lists and rates quality health websites, collects user characteristics and publishes user feedback; and to report summary data on Beacon's highest-rated (best evidence-based) sites for mental health. ⋯ There are a number of high-quality mental health websites on the internet, and Beacon provides a portal to enable the wide dissemination of these resources.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Stepped care for depression in primary care: what should be offered and how?
Stepped-care approaches may offer a solution to delivering accessible, effective and efficient services for individuals with depression. In stepped care, all patients commence with a low-intensity, low-cost treatment. Treatment results are monitored systematically, and patients move to a higher-intensity treatment only if necessary. ⋯ The different treatments within the stepped-care model are evidence-based. Data on cost-effectiveness of the full model are still scarce, but we recently demonstrated that the incidence of new cases of depression and anxiety could be halved by introducing stepped care. Effects of web-based guided self-help could be enhanced by incorporating them in a stepped-care model.
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To explore patterns of internet use by young people in Australia and assess the usefulness of online resources for mental health problems, exploring functionality that may be relevant in the development of online mental health services. ⋯ Our findings suggest that technology is important in the everyday lives of young people, and online mental health services that encompass promotion and prevention activities should include a variety of resources that appeal to all ages and both sexes, such as "question and answer" forums and email.
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Internet treatment programs for anxiety and depressive disorders are becoming available and offer cost-effective alternatives to face-to-face treatment with medication or cognitive behaviour therapy. The Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression at St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, offers internet treatment courses at the VirtualClinic (http://www.virtualclinic.org.au) for people who meet diagnostic criteria for major depression, social phobia, panic disorder and generalised anxiety disorder. ⋯ The four treatment programs that have been successfully evaluated in the VirtualClinic have been made available on a not-for-profit basis ($5 service fee) at the CRUfADclinic (http://www.crufadclinic.org) for general practitioners and other clinicians to use with their patients. These programs could be the first level of treatment in a stepped-care environment, where patients who do not benefit sufficiently could then receive face-to-face treatment from their clinician or be referred for specialist treatment.