The world has attributed a lot of its mental health challenges to having an online presence, to being constantly immersed in an alternate world filled with a distasteful mix of anonymity and crowd pleasing. So how do we fix it? Apparently the answers are…online. 

An online course designed to curb negative thinking has had positive results, according to the once worried people who took it. 

The Managing Rumination and Worry Program is a three-lesson course completed over six weeks, aiming to help participants reduce their dwelling on past negative experiences and worrying over the future. 

The course was found to significantly improve the mental health of the people who participated in the study. The trial was part of a collaboration between the University of NSW (UNSW), the Black Dog Institute and The Clinical Research Unit for Anxiety and Depression at St Vincent’s Health Network.

“Out of all the research we’ve done on online therapies, this is by far the most popular program we’ve done,” UNSW clinical psychologist Professor Jill Newby said. 

“We got way more applicants for what we could manage in a very quick timeframe. So it’s clear there is a community need for help with rumination and worry.” 

With such a large take up of the course, the strong demand for mental health services is clear. 

According to the NSW Mental Health Commission, only 22 per cent of regional and rural NSW residents report good access to mental health services. 

Within the research, 137 adults who experienced elevated levels of repetitive negative thinking were randomly allocated to one of three groups: clinician guided, non-clinician guided, or receiving the course after an 18-week waiting period. 

While those in the group guided by a clinician showed the best results, 90 per cent of participants who did the online course with or without assistance reported significantly lower levels of repetitive negative thoughts. 

At the three-month follow up, they reported more positive progress.

So how does it work?

The course content was presented as a comic-style story following two fictional characters who learn to better manage rumination and worry. 

Participants would download a lesson summary and action plan they would practice in the upcoming week, such as learning when to recognise when they’re being consumed by worry. 

“Just becoming aware of it and labelling it as a type of thinking can actually help people manage it,” said lead researcher Dr Amy Joubert. 

After recognising their worry, participants are given ways of moving from that type of thinking to something else. 

How to choose the route to less worry.

Other than solving the cause of the worry, participants are encouraged to find a distraction like a change of environment, talking to someone, or new activity. 

“If you find yourself ruminating or worrying about things and it has really eaten up a lot of your time, it is likely becoming very distressing. If it’s not leading to an answer or helping you feel better, then it’s unproductive, so we suggest moving on to something else – channel it into a new action.” 

“The goal is to get out of your head and focus on the new activities,” Dr Jouber said. 

Eventually, the course will be developed to tailor common causes of worry, such as climate anxiety and worries during pregnancy. 

The online course will be hosted on This Way Up, a government funded online clinic. Subscriptions to the clinic are free with a prescription from a clinician.