Moderated online social therapy for depression relapse prevention in young people: pilot study of a 'next generation' online intervention.
Implementation of targeted e-mental health interventions offers a promising solution to reducing the burden of disease associated with youth depression. A single-group pilot study was conducted to evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, usability and safety of a novel, moderated online social therapy intervention (entitled Rebound) for depression relapse prevention in young people.



Participants were 42 young people (15-25 years) (50% men; mean age = 18.5 years) in partial or full remission. Participants had access to the Rebound platform for at least 12 weeks, including the social networking, peer and clinical moderator and therapy components.



Follow-up data were available for 39 (92.9%) participants. There was high system usage, with 3034 user logins (mean = 72.2 per user) and 2146 posts (mean = 51.1). Almost 70% of users had ≥10 logins over the 12 weeks, with 78.5% logging in over at least 2 months of the pilot. A total of 32 (84%) participants rated the intervention as helpful. There was significant improvement between the number of participants in full remission at baseline (n = 5; none of whom relapsed) relative to n = 19 at 12-week follow-up (P < 0.001). Six (14.3%) participants relapsed to full threshold symptoms at 12 weeks. There was a significant improvement to interviewer-rated depression scores (Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS); P = 0.014, d = 0.45) and a trend for improved strength use (P = 0.088, d = 0.29). The single-group design and 12-week treatment phase preclude a full understanding of the clinical benefits of the Rebound intervention.



The Rebound intervention was shown to be acceptable, feasible, highly usable and safe in young people with major depression.
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.|Orygen Youth Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Simon
S
Rice
School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia.
John
J
Gleeson
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.|Orygen Youth Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Christopher
C
Davey
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Sarah
S
Hetrick
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Alexandra
A
Parker
Department of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Reeva
R
Lederman
Department of Computing and Information Systems, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Greg
G
Wadley
Department of Psychological Science, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.
Greg
G
Murray
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Helen
H
Herrman
Campus Community Division, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Richard
R
Chambers
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Penni
P
Russon
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Christopher
C
Miles
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Simon
S
D'Alfonso
Orygen Youth Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Melissa
M
Thurley
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Gina
G
Chinnery
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Tamsyn
T
Gilbertson
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Dina
D
Eleftheriadis
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Emma
E
Barlow
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Daniella
D
Cagliarini
Orygen Youth Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Jia-Wern
JW
Toh
Orygen Youth Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Stuart
S
McAlpine
School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia.
Peter
P
Koval
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Sarah
S
Bendall
Psychiatric Research Unit, Psychiatry Region Zealand, Denmark.
Jens Einar
JE
Jansen
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Matthew
M
Hamilton
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Patrick
P
McGorry
Orygen, The National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Centre of Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Australia.
Mario
M
Alvarez-Jimenez
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003863:Depression / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010379:Peer Group; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012008:Recurrence; D012074:Remission Induction; D055502:Secondary Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D060756:Social Networking; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
Internet; adolescent; depression; recurrence; secondary prevention