Evaluation of Online Video Counselling

Swinburne University of Technology400 enrolled

Overview

The objective of the study is to establish whether online video counselling is at least equally acceptable and equally as effective to clients and clinicians of the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service (VVCS) as in-person counselling. If this is confirmed by the evaluation then online video counselling can be made more widely available to support the veteran and ex-service community, especially for those who may otherwise be unable to attend therapy and for clients who would prefer such web-based services over in-person sessions.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

400

Conditions

Videoconferencing

Interventions

Online video-based counsellingBEHAVIORAL

Videoconferencing facilitates communication between individuals (i.e., the counsellor and the client) in different geographical locations enabling them to interact simultaneously with each other on a computer monitor in real time. In other words, both the client and the therapist communicate live using both visual and audio aids simulating in-person therapy albeit from two separate geographical locations.

Traditional in-person counsellingBEHAVIORAL

Traditional in-person counselling is often referred to as "face-to-face" and can be loosely defined as any mental health intervention, whereby the clinician is in the same room with a client. The terms "in-person" and "same room" are used less frequently, but it has been argued that these terms are more descriptive (since in videoconferencing, clients are also seen "face-to-face" on screen). Therefore, the current study uses the term "in-person" to describe traditional, face-to-face counselling.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 65 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Currently residing in Australia * Eligible to receive support from the Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service (VVCS) * Aged between 18 and 65 * Home access to broadband internet * Own a device (e.g., computer, laptop, or tablet) that has a webcam and can support videoconferencing * Be able to reasonably travel to a VVCS centre to access counselling * Referred for one-to-one counselling or therapy * Be willing and able to receive either modality of treatment (i.e., online or in-person counselling). Exclusion Criteria: * Not currently residing in Australia * Not eligible to receive support from VVCS * Significant current risk issues or levels of acute distress requiring crisis management * Current serving member of the Australian Defence Force with a high security clearance (above Baseline Vetting) * Referred for couple or family counselling. * Have received a psychiatric diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Locations (1)

Swinburne University of Technology

Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Group x Time Interaction for overall mental health as measured by the K10 from baseline to 16-week follow up

0 to 16 week difference in K10 scores in group x time interaction. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) (Kessler et al., 2002) is a 10-item questionnaire intended to yield a global measure of distress based on questions about anxiety and depressive symptoms that a person has experienced in the most recent 4-week period.

Time frame: Baseline, 8-week follow-up, 16-week follow-up

Secondary Outcomes

Group x Time Interaction for the Outcome Rating Scale from baseline to 16-week follow up

0 to 16 week difference in ORS scores in group x time interaction. The Outcome Rating Scale (ORS, Miller, Duncan, Brown, Sparks, \& Claud, 2003) will also be administered at all three time points. This is a 4-item self-report inventory that measures three different dimensions of client functioning generally considered as valid indicators of treatment progress: individual (or symptomatic) functioning, interpersonal relationships, and social role performance (work adjustment, quality of life).

Time frame: Baseline, 8-week follow-up, 16-week follow-up

Group x Time Interaction for Quality of Life from baseline to 16-week follow up

0 to 16 week difference in AQoL-8D scores in group x time interaction. The Assessment of Quality of Life-8D (AQoL-8D, Richardson et al., 2014) is a 35-item measure of health related quality of life which is sensitive to mental health issues, and is suitable for calculation of QALYs. This measure is to be administered at all three data collection points, however, due to the length of this measure, it would be too time consuming for participants to complete this measure over the telephone. Therefore, this measure will only be completed by participants who complete the assessment online.

Time frame: Baseline, 8-week follow-up, 16-week follow-up (only administered to participants completing the survey online)

Therapeutic (or Working) Alliance

The Working Alliance Inventory - Short Revised (WAI-SR). This is a 12-item form of the WAI (Horvath \& Greenberg, 1989). It is a self-report inventory that measures the quality of the therapeutic relationship from the client's perspective.

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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