Internet Delivered Therapy

A review of “Therapist Experience and Knowledge Acquisition in Internet-Delivered CBT for Social Anxiety Disorder: A Randomized-Controlled Trial”

THE MAIN POINT:

In a recent study, Andersson, Carlbring, and Furmark (2012) examined whether an internet-delivered CBT treatment for Social Anxiety disorder was superior to an online support group. Results indicated that the internet-based treatment was superior to the online support group, regardless of the level of experience of the facilitating therapist. Results of this study suggest that providing internet-based treatment for social anxiety may be an effective treatment, particularly for clients who are unable to come in for face-to-face therapy.

THE DETAILS:

What were the goals of this study?

There were three main goals for this study:

• To examine whether an internet-based treatment for social anxiety disorder was superior to an internet-based support group.
• To examine whether patients’ knowledge of social anxiety disorder increased during treatment.
• To investigate whether the level of therapist experience influenced treatment outcomes.

What was the treatment like?

The treatment was based on self-help manual for social anxiety disorder, which was adapted into a self-study internet program consisting of nine modules. Participants completed roughly one module a week and received weekly feedback on homework assignments from the therapist.

How did the authors examine the study goals?

The authors recruited participants through an internet advertisement and screened participants for eligibility via self-report measures and phone interviews. Participants were then randomly assigned to the treatment or the support group.

What were the main findings from this study?

There were three main findings:

• Participants randomly assigned to the internet-based treatment for social anxiety disorder saw a greater reduction in symptoms of social anxiety disorder than those participating in the support group.
• Participants randomized to the internet-based treatment also increased their knowledge of social anxiety disorder more than those in the support group. This increase in knowledge was associated with some of their reduced anxiety, too.
• Participants’ success in treatment was not dependent on the level of therapist expertise. Specifically, student therapists, who were supervised by licensed professionals, did as well as more senior therapists.

What are the clinical implications of this study?

Given that this study found that sufferers of social anxiety benefitted from a brief internet-based treatment, these results suggest that treatment providers may find it useful to offer therapy clients internet-based therapy, particularly if coming in for face-to-face treatment isn’t feasible. Although traditional models of therapy involve meeting weekly for a hour, result of this study suggest that more flexible treatment delivery can still benefit sufferers of social anxiety disorder.

How can I learn more about this study?

If you would like to learn more about this study, please click the following link:

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0037411

If you would like to learn more about the online treatment, please click the following link:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16881775

References

Andersson, G., Carlbring, P., & Furmark, T. (2012). Therapist experience and knowledge acquisition in internet-delivered CBT for social anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial. PLoS ONE, 7(5). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0037411