In her monthly column, Dr Jan Orman from the Black Dog Institute is providing reliable evidence-based Australian online resources for mental healthcare. In this month’s column Dr Orman looks at MindSpot Virtual Clinic.
Macquarie University’s MindSpot Virtual Clinic – www.mindspot.org.au – is online cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) with the extra bonus of some clinician guidance. Clinicians based at Macquarie University call or email users (the user’s choice) after they register and again after completion of each of the lessons in their course.
MindSpot courses are free of charge and no referral is required.
Each course is designed to be completed over about eight weeks. There are breaks between sessions to allow people to practice the skills they have learnt in the sessions.
Available courses include three transdiagnostic ‘wellbeing’ courses for different age groups and one for Indigenous users. MindSpot also offers three diagnosis-specific courses for OCD, PTSD and chronic pain.
Some tips when referring to online treatment programs include showing the patient/client the website on their phone or your desktop and helping them register. It also helps to make a definite follow-up appointment.
You can easily integrate program content into therapy. It will help them get the best out of the program and make your work easier as well.