iCBT for Long-term Conditions in IAPT

Overview

SilverCloud provides internet-delivered interventions for depression and anxiety in NHS Mental Health Services. The interventions have proved successful in the management of depression and anxiety for clients presenting to mental health services, with recovery rates exceeding the national standard. Recently SilverCloud has embarked on tailoring the interventions for patients with long-term conditions including COPD, pain and diabetes. The purpose of the customisation is to make the interventions more meaningful and relevant to patients with LTCs, but all the while having the same goal of addressing depression and anxiety disorders. In doing so it would be expected that individuals might be in a better position to effectively self-manage their LTC. The current study, therefore, seeks to assess the possible effectiveness of implementing customised internet-delivered interventions for depression and anxiety for people with long-term conditions presenting to NHS mental health services.

iCBT is the delivery of a tailored structured cognitive and behaviour therapy based programme, with support, to individuals with mild to moderate symptoms of depression and anxiety. There is now a substantial body of research evidence that supports the efficacy and effectiveness of internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy for depression and anxiety (Richards \& Richardson, 2012; Andersson and Cuijpers, 2009). Historically, a number of iCBT interventions have been used in clinical practice in IAPT services. However, they have often suffered from poor engagement and consequently poor clinical outcomes. More recent developments in the field have produced more robust technological platforms, where content is delivered through a variety of media that enhance productivity, increase engagement and produce better clinical outcomes. The SilverCloud intervention has been demonstrated to be a clinical effective evidence-based cognitive behavioural treatment option (Richards et al., 2015). Chronic illnesses can have profound effects on well-being, functional capacity and quality of life. Psychological comorbidities with an LTC can further contribute to the distress that is caused by these symptoms. Patients with comorbid depression and anxiety disorders and a long-term condition are associated with significantly higher health care utilisation, poorer outcomes from treatment and increased costs of care (Moussavi et al., 2007; Naylor et al., 2012). The IAPT programme in the UK provides effective treatments for depression and anxiety but these have been underutilized by people with LTCs and partially this is due to an underrecognition; one reason for this has been the traditional precedence set on managing the physical aspects of any LTC and effectively paying little attention to psychological comorbidity (Coventry et al., 2011). Several pathfinders sites are currently involved in providing psychological treatment for long-term conditions, but to date, results have been limited due to several factors, such as delays in commencing programmes and funding issues. To this extent, SilverCloud wishes to implement their tailored "Space from…" series of programmes for long-term conditions - chronic pain, COPD and Diabetes. The purpose of the tailoring is to make the interventions more meaningful and relevant to patients with LTCs, but all the while having the same goal of addressing depression and anxiety disorders. In doing so it would be expected that individuals might be in a better position to effectively self-manage their LTC. The current study, therefore, seeks to assess the clinical feasibility of implementing customised internet-delivered interventions for depression and anxiety for people with LTCS presenting to IAPT services.