Brief summary

Mental health (e.g., anxiety, depression) and functional difficulties (e.g., cognitive problems) are highly comorbid in people with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). However, access to effective psychological treatments are limited. People with MS face many barriers (e.g., costs, limited trained clinicians, mobility issues) accessing effective psychological care.

The Wellbeing Neuro Course offers an innovative solution to these barriers and aims to improve access to effective psychological care for adults with MS within the Australian healthcare system. The Course uses the principles of both cognitive behaviour therapy and compensatory cognitive rehabilitation to target several domains of mental health and functional disability.

The purpose of this project is to assess the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of an established internet-delivered psychological treatment, the Wellbeing Neuro Course, in reducing symptoms of depression, anxiety and disability in patients with Multiple Sclerosis, The study also aims to gather critical data of the characteristics of patient’s response to treatment.

it is hypothesised that: (1) the program will be highly acceptable and that high levels of engagement will be observed; (2) the program will require relatively little clinician time to administer; and (3) preliminary evidence of improvements in disability, anxiety, and depression will be observed at post-treatment and maintained at 3-month and 12-month follow-up in patients with MS.

Inclusion criteria

(a) Confirmed diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis
(b) Experiencing difficulties with their emotional and/or cognitive health
(c) 18+ years of age
(d) Living in Australia

Exclusion criteria

(a) Imminently suicidal or unable to keep themselves safe
(b) Are experiencing severe cognitive difficulties with day-to-day memory, attention and ability to learn basic information.
(c) Are unable to read and understand English
(d) Do not have access to the internet

Anticipated start date

Already commenced

Recruitment contacts

Dr Milena Gandy
Phone: 02 9850 4152
Email: milena.gandy@mq.edu.au

Further details

You can apply to take the Wellbeing Neuro Course here.

You can find further information ANZCTR.

Region

NSW, ACT, VIC, QLD, TAS, SA, WA, NT

Ethics approval

Yes

Last updated

02/08/2022