Research so far on this course ...

We have conducted > 5 trials of this course

More than 900 participants have enrolled in this course

We have published > 5 studies evaluating this course

Wellbeing Plus Course

Background

The Wellbeing Plus Course is a free online and internet-delivered treatment program designed for adults 60 years and older. It aims to teach practical, proven, skills for managing symptoms of stress, anxiety, worry, low mood and depression. We developed the Wellbeing Plus Course because many older adults have difficulties with stress, anxiety, worry, low mood and depression. But, few people have access to or seek treatment.

Importantly, this course is very similar to our other Courses but also targets issues relevant to older adults including changing roles, changes in health and maintaining independence. The Wellbeing Plus Course aims to help mature adults understand and manage symptoms of worry, stress, and low mood and to improve their overall wellbeing. The aim of the Course is to support adults to learn practical skills for managing these symptoms so that they can get back to leading an enjoyable and rewarding life.

To learn more about symptoms of low mood and depression, please click here.

To learn more about stress and anxiety, please click here.

Who is the course suitable for?

The course is suitable for:

Adults aged 60 years and older.
With symptoms of stress, anxiety, low mood and depression.
With depression, social anxiety, panic attacks and generalised worry.
Who want to learn information and skills to improve the quality of their lives and emotional wellbeing.
Who have at least 4 hours per week to spend working on the Course and practicing the skills taught during the Course.

Unfortunately, we cannot include people who are currently suicidal, do not have access to the Internet. We also strongly recommend people discuss their participation in this Course with their GP and other doctors.

What does the course involve?

The course involves:

5 online lessons that provide information and teach practical self-management skills.
Worksheets to help understand and practice those skills.
Lots of Additional Resources and Case Stories and examples from others.
Brief weekly contact with a clinician via email and telephone (not available in every course).

The course aims to provide the information and skills that you would normally receive from a Clinical Psychologist, if you attend a specialist treatment facility. However, because many people cannot access these facilities, we developed this internet-delivered course. Our goal was to make it as helpful as possible and to make it freely and widely available.

The Wellbeing Plus Course has been carefully designed to work with both regular clinician support as well as in self-guided formats.

What have we found so far?

We have now had a lot of people complete this course. Participants are reporting improvements in:

Low mood and depression
Stress and anxiety

Although the Course is hard work, more than 90% of participants are also reporting the course is worth their time and that they'd recommend it to others.

Some of the key papers we have published on this course are:

Read J, Sharpe L, Burton A, Arean P, Raue P, McDonald S, Gandy M, Titov N, Dear BF. (2020). A randomised controlled trial of internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy to prevent the development of depressive disorders in older adults with multimorbidity. Journal of Affective Disorders, 264, 464 – 473.
Titov N, Fogliati VJ, Staples L, Gandy M, Johnston L, Wootton B, Nielssen O, Dear BF. (2016). Treating anxiety and depression in older adults: A randomised controlled trial comparing guided versus self-guided internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy. British Journal of Psychiatry Open, 2, 50-58.
Titov N, Dear BF, Ali S, Zou J, Lorian C, Johnston L, Terides MD, Kayrouz R, Klein B, Gandy M, Fogliati V. (2015). Clinical and cost-effectiveness of clinician-guided internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy program for older adults with symptoms of depression: a randomised controlled trial. Behavior Therapy, 46, 193-205.
Dear BF, Zou J, Ali S, Lorian C, Johnston L, Sheehan J, Staples LG, Gandy M, Fogliati V, Klein B, Titov N. (2015). Clinical and cost-effectiveness of clinician-guided internet-delivered cognitive behaviour therapy program for older adults with symptoms of anxiety: a randomised controlled trial. Behavior Therapy, 46, 206-217

What is the current trial or study looking at?

Every time we offer a course we offer it as a part of a trial or study. This means that participants are helping us to answer an important research question while they participate in our courses.

We are not currently planning any research using the Wellbeing Plus Course.

When is the next course being offered?

We are not currently planning any trials of the Wellbeing Plus Course. If you are interested in participating, please click on the 'register now' button below. We will then email you as soon as the course becomes available.

At the moment, we are commending people consider participating in our standard Wellbeing Course, here. Or, if they are experiencing a chronic health condition, our Chronic Conditions Course, here.