Seeing a psychologist in person is arguably the most effective way of alleviating psychological distress, however there are some other approaches that might work for you. In some cases a person is more inclined to reach out for help over the Internet, or to try working through their problems by themselves first. Aside from consulting with a psychologist over the Internet, there are some fantastic web-based systems that guide you through some psychological techniques that work. And the great news is, most of these are free!

But do they work?

The short answer is "in some cases, yes". Large-scale reviews of the research show moderate effect sizes for self-guided psychological approaches delivered over the Internet without the support of a therapist (Barak et al., 2008). In particular, there is quite considerable evidence now that systems like these can be effective for the treatment of common conditions like depression and anxiety (Spek et al., 2007). It is encouraging that Australia is on the cutting edge of research about these approaches.

Web-based self-help for Anxiety

An excellent example of this approach is the 'Anxiety Online' program run by Swinburne University's National eTherapy Centre. This service is free for self-guided interventions, but also has a therapist-assisted version for a small fee in those cases where a person feels they need a little more support. To begin accessing this free service you need to complete their ePASS psychological testing system, which takes about 45 minutes. Once it has tested your levels of distress across a number of different areas, the automated system will recommend self-guided modules for you to apply. From there you simply log in each week and complete the self-guided treatment modules. This is a great resource for those who are interested in exploring how a psychological approach might help in their situation. At this stage the service is new so there is limited data about how effective it is, but I can say after reviewing all of the similar systems of offer, Anxiety Online incorporates all of the key elements that have been shown to work in other studies.

Web-based self-help for Depression

One of the earliest and best web-based treatment systems is Australian National University's MoodGYM program. Again, this service is a free resource and provides loads of information and activities that are routinely applied by psychologists working with depression. There have been quite a number of randomised clinical trials testing their approach showing promising results, especially in cases where people complete 3 or more modules. Follow-up research also shows that people continue to derive benefit from having used MoodGYM over a year later, by comparison to those with depression who did not access treatment. Given the widespread nature of depression across society, knowing that there are approaches like this that can work offers some hope that we can make a difference on a wider scale.