Have you got a diagnosis of depression or OCD or PTSD or chronic pain or anxiety or health anxiety or insomnia or substance use disorder?
Or perhaps you are just stressed out or struggling to cope?
We are lucky in Australia in that we have an excellent range of online programs for different psychological disorders such as the ones mentioned above.
These online programs can be completed in your own time and teach you about your condition and how to better manage it.
They aren’t always a replacement for face-to-face therapy or medication, but they can be an excellent adjunct.
They can also be a good entry point for someone who knows they are struggling psychologically but aren’t quite ready yet to reach out for professional support.
To get value from one of these programs does require you to invest some time and effort in the process. You might need to set aside the same time each week to access the program. You might also have to set yourself some homework exercises during the week to transfer what you’ve learned in the program into your everyday life.
But what you are getting in these programs is a condensed form of what you might get in therapy and can thus be quite powerful. The evidence even suggests that the outcomes can be equivalent to face-to-face therapy.
The handout attached below lists some of the main providers of these programs. You’ll notice that each provider has multiple courses for different psychological problems.
Some like This Way Up also offer courses that deal with stress or coping and not necessarily specific psychological disorders. This Way Up also has a free wellbeing course specifically for students.
You can also find online programs via directories like https://headtohealth.gov.au/ or https://www.emhprac.org.au/directory/
The question you need to ask yourself is “Am I ready to start exploring what I can do to improve my mental health?’ If the answer is ‘yes’, then you could do a lot worse than signing up to one of these programs.
Many are free, whilst some come at a small cost (small relative to seeing a private psychologist).
If you are not sure how to select what program to try, chuck me an email (gareth.furber@flinders.edu.au) and I will try to direct you to the right course.
