Internet 'can help fight depression'

Online self help tools helpful with offline counselling

PTI | September 8, 2010



Internet can help teenagers fight depression, says a study by an Indian-origin researcher.

Dr Suvena Sethi of the University of Sydney and his colleagues have found that interactive online mental health resources and traditional counselling can help improve the mental well being of teenagers.

The study assessed the effectiveness of online mental health resources (static and interactive), including tools used to assist rural and remote young people suffering from mild-to-moderate depression.

The study, titled 'Internet Self-Help for Depression', focused on evaluating current online mental health resources to demonstrate their effectiveness as both stand-alone tools and tools used in conjunction with traditional therapy.

"Each of these innovative online approaches to the prevention and management of mild to moderate depression are in use globally.

"However, the independent and combined effectiveness of online mental health help tools being accessed by adolescents with education websites or online support groups had not been investigated in combination with face-to-face cognitive behavioural therapy.

"As such, our research concluded that for adolescents, the best form of depression treatment is a combination of online self-help tools used in conjunction with offline counselling," team member Dr Andrew Campbell said.

The findings have been published in the 'Journal of Technology in Human Services'.

Comments

 

Other News

Railways imposed ₹5.13 crore fine for food quality and hygiene violations

Indian Railways serve about 58 crore meals every year on an average. About only 0.0008% food quality related complaints are received on average. Based on complaints during the last three years, appropriate penal actions have been taken by IRCTC. Such actions include imposition of fines amounting to ₹5.13

STHAVAR: Why every Indian built asset needs a permanent digital identity

India has built digital systems for identity, payments, taxation, documents, logistics and public services. State governments, ministries, infrastructure agencies and urban local bodies have also created portals for land records, building permissions, project monitoring, property taxation and municipal s

Saksham Skill census identifies 22,000 job-ready candidates in one Mumbai ward

A first-of-its-kind AI-enabled skill census conducted in Mumbai`s H-West Ward has identified a potential livelihood pipeline of nearly 22,000 candidates, generated over 32,000 provisional job matches while revealing that 71.2 per cent of surveyed homemakers are willing to join the workforce, according to

GI tags: Scaling traditional wealth into global brands

Geographical Indication (GI) tags have emerged as a powerful tool for protecting India`s cultural heritage, while creating economic opportunities for local communities. By linking products to their place of origin, GI tags preserve traditional knowledge, prevent misuse, and enhance consumer trust. They h

BMC: 207 officials in ACB net, 112 still on duty, 68 retire before justice catches up

There are significant delays in the handling of corruption cases involving officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a Right to Information (RTI) response obtained by rights activist Jeetendra Ghadge has revealed. As of 30 April 2026, 207 BMC officials face Anti-Corruption Bureau (A

The transformation trap: Why efficiency is not innovation

Every company is transforming, or so it claims.   There was a time when the word ‘transformation’ carried weight. It signified bold strategic shifts, reinvention of business models, and breakthrough technologies that fundamentally changed how organizations created

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter