The automated CBT psychologist: the development and trial of an online cbt treatment program for stuttering adolescents
Year: 2014
Type: article
Study design: Clinical Trial
Abstract: Introduction: This thesis took a successfully trialed, fully automated Internet based CBT (iCBT) program for treating socially anxious stuttering adults, known as CBTpsych (see Helgadottir, Menzies, Onslow, Packman & O'Brian, 2009b), and adapted it for stuttering adolescents. This saw the development and phase I trial of a fully automated iCBT program that targets social anxiety in stuttering adolescents, and does not require clinician involvement. Method: The adolescent iCBT program used algorithms to tailor treatment to each user’s specific issues relating to social anxiety. All seven modules in the iCBT program were designed around Clark and Wells’ (1995) model of social anxiety. Twelve stuttering adolescents presenting for stuttering treatment at the Australian Stuttering Research Centre (ASRC) were offered iCBT program access for five months. Participants were not allowed access to a psychologist during the trial. Results: Of the 12 participants enrolled in the study, three never started the iCBT program. Nine participants used the iCBT program, and 44% (n = 4/9) completed it. Only four participants returned their post-treatment assessment booklets. Post-treatment analysis revealed reductions in assessment scores for those who completed the program. Post-trial phone interviews with five of the nine participants who used the program suggested: (1) a positive response to iCBT; (2) that time constraints and school pressures act as a serious barrier for this age group accessing Internet based treatment. Conclusion: In line with earlier findings on this age group, stuttering adolescents were shown to be a difficult population to engage, evident by the high non-completion rate of the iCBT program (42%, n = 5/12) and the high non-completion rate of post-trial assessment booklets (67%, n = 8/12). More research is needed to find ways of lifting adolescent completion rates with Internet based treatment.
Author: Anthony Gunn
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1500992020