An Internet-Based Self-Help Treatment for Fear of Public Speaking: A Controlled Trial

Abstract

This study offers data about the efficacy of "Talk to Me," an Internet-based telepsychology program for the treatment of fear of public speaking that includes the most active components in cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) for social phobia (exposure and cognitive therapies). One hundred twenty-seven participants with social phobia were randomly assigned to three experimental conditions: (a) an Internet-based self-administered program; (b) the same program applied by a therapist; (c) a waiting-list control group. Results showed that both treatment conditions were equally efficacious. In addition, Talk to Me and the same treatment applied by a therapist were more efficacious than the waiting-list condition. Treatment gains were maintained at 1-year follow-up. The results from this study support the utility of Internet-delivered CBT programs in order to reach a higher number of people who could benefit from CBT. Internet-delivered CBT programs could also play a valuable role in the dissemination of CBT.

El uso de las tecnologías de la información y la comunicación (TIC) en la prevención del juego patológico en población joven y adolescente

“…En concreto, Internet ofrece un nuevo modo de dispensar tratamientos cognitivo-conductuales (tcc) (Andersson, 2009) y ha demostrado ser una intervención eficaz y de bajo coste para los trastornos de ansiedad y los trastornos del estado de ánimo (Botella, Hoffman y Moscovitch, 2004;Cuijpers y Schuurmans, 2007;Botella et al, 2010;Botella, Quero et al, 2008). Una ventaja fundamental de estos programas es que reducen el tiempo de contacto entre paciente y clínico, además de llegar a pacientes que no recibirían tratamiento de otro modo (Bauer, Golkaramnay y Kordy, 2005).…”

Transdiagnostic internet treatment for anxiety and depression = Tratamiento transdiagnóstico por internet de la ansiedad y la depresión

“…A substantial number of trials have reported the effectiveness of disorder-specifi c iPT at treating several common mental disorders. For example, more than 10 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have reported the clinical benefi ts of iPT for clinical and subclinical depression Perini, Titov, & Andrews, 2009;Ruwaard et al, 2009;Titov, Andrews, Davies, et al, 2010), social phobia (Andersson et al, 2006;Berger, Hohl, & Caspar, 2009;Botella et al, 2010;Carlbring et al, 2007;, and panic disorder Klein et al, 2009;Wims, Titov, Andrews, & Choi, 2010). Encouraging evidence has also been found from a smaller but rapidly growing number of RCTs or open trials evaluating iPT for generalised anxiety disorder Robinson et al, 2010;, obsessive compulsive disorder Andersson et al, 2012;Wootton et al, 2011), and post-traumatic stress disorder (Klein et al, 2010;Spence et al, 2011).…”

Games for Health: Have Fun with Virtual Reality!

“…Furthermore, a variety of research has been conducted on technology-aided interventions such as online-based self-administered interventions, and promising results concerning anxiety and stress reduction have been reported (36). Selfadministered treatment programs provide cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) with minimal therapist support, but effective outcomes (37,38). These programs lack game plays and reward systems, they are not games per definition.…”