Delivering Interventions for Depression by Using the Internet: Randomized Controlled Trial

The participants in this study included 525 individuals with increased depressive symptoms recruited by a survey. The participants were randomly assigned to one of three web sites created by the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University. The participants were directed to the following web sites:

• Information about depression (n = 166) was provided at Bluepages.com
   
• Cognitive behavior therapy (n = 182) was provided at MoodGYM.com
   
• Control intervention was an attention placebo web site (n = 178)

The main outcome measures were change in depression, dysfunctional thoughts; knowledge of medical, psychological, and lifestyle treatments; and knowledge of cognitive behavior therapy. The results indicated that the on-line information about depression and the
web-site focused on cognitive behavioral therapy were more effective than the attention placebo in reducing symptoms of depression.

• BluePages significantly improved participants' understanding of effective evidence-based treatments for depression
  
• MoodGYM reduced dysfunctional thinking and increased knowledge of cognitive behavior therapy

The researchers concluded that both cognitive behavior therapy and psycho-education delivered via the internet were effective in reducing symptoms of depression. The effects of interaction with the informational web sites were detectable in a 12 month follow-up test.