Investigators: Anna Hunt, Ashleigh Lin, Yael Perry
Carers of young people with early psychosis endure high levels of stress and depression, and eroded social networks. Family cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) leads to significantly improved perceived stress, but there are well-known barriers to dissemination. To address this, we have developed a novel online intervention (‘Altitudes’) that integrates social networking, expert and peer moderation, and evidence-based psychoeducation.
The aim of this cluster randomised controlled trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of Altitudes relative to Treatment as Usual (TAU) in real-world clinical services in Melbourne and Perth. We will recruit 160 family members of 12-40 year-olds with early psychosis. The primary hypothesis is that carers accessing Altitudes + TAU will report significantly less perceived stress at 6 months compared with those receiving TAU only.
We also predict that the Altitudes group will experience reduced objective stress, improved positive coping, self-efficacy, depression and perceived social support at follow-up.
External collaborators:
Australian Catholic University; Orygen, Centre for Excellence in Youth Mental Health; University of Melbourne; Alfred Health
We are no longer recruiting for this study.