Nickolai Titov*, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia Blake Farran Dear, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia Ron Rapee, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia James Bennett-Levy, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia Britt Klein, University of Ballarat, Ballarat, Australia Susan Anderson, beyondblue, Melbourne, Australia Track: Practice Presentation Topic: Public (e-)health, population health technologies, surveillance Presentation Type: Oral presentation Submission Type: Single Presentation Building: Sheraton Maui Resort Room: B - Kapalua Date: 2014-11-13 04:15 PM – 05:00 PM Last modified: 2014-09-04

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Background: Anxiety and depressive disorders affect 3 million Australian adults each year, but many people experience barriers to accessing treatments. In December 2012, the MindSpot Clinic (www.mindspot.org.au), a publicly funded national remote treatment service, began operating in Australia at Macquarie University.

Objective: The MindSpot Clinic aims to improve access to online and telephone-delivered assessment and treatment for Australians with anxiety or depression each year. This talk will describe the MindSpot Clinic and will report preliminary data from the first 18 months of operations.

Methods: The Clinic has been developed to provide services to more than 10,000 Australians with anxiety or depression each year. The Clinic now employs 35 staff, including 28 therapists, IT support staff, and management.

Results: Demographic details and symptom characteristics will be described for more than 15,000 patients who received services between December 2012 and June 2014. Results of clinical treatments will be described and compared with results from clinical trials that employed the same interventions and symptom measures. The acceptability of the MindSpot Clinic to consumers will also be discussed. Lessons learned in developing and operating a national online mental health service will be presented.

Conclusions: These preliminary results indicate that virtual mental health services can provide clinically effective and acceptable internet and telephone-delivered psychological interventions for people with anxiety and depressive disorders.