A Pilot Investigation of Clinician-guided Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Depressed Patients

A Pilot Investigation of Clinician-guided Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Depressed Patients in an Outpatient Hospital Setting

This study aims to explore the efficacy and acceptability of a clinician-guided internet-based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (iCBT) programme for patients with depression, in Singapore.

All outpatients, from the Institute of Mental Health, Singapore, who are diagnosed with a primary diagosis of mild to moderate depression and were referred to the Psychology Department for therapy were invited to take part in this research. Participants were randomised into two groups: iCBT Intervention Group and Delayed Waitlist-Control Group. The four-week iCBT programme comprised of three face to face 30-minute sessions with a clinician and six online modules).The treatment group is hypothesised to exhibit pre-post improvements in depressive symptoms, compared to the control group.

Inclusion Criteria:

• 21 to 65 years old
• Not currently seeing a therapist for any form of invidual or group therapy
• Diagnosed with a primary diagnosis of depression by IMH psychiatrist
• A total score of above 9 on the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; Kroenke et al., 2001), indicating at least mild symptoms
• If using medication for depression then on a stable dose for at least 1 month,
• Provides informed consent
• Able to read and speak at least Primary 6 level English
• Adequate IT skills to operate iCBT programme

Exclusion Criteria:

• Severe depression (i.e. score = 23 on PHQ-9)
• Strong suicidal ideation (i.e. score > 2 on Question 9 of the PHQ-9)
• Current active suicidal intention or plan
• Presenting problem is not depression
• Does not meet the minimum English language requirements stated above
• Participants who are concurrently attending other forms of group/individual psychotherapy