CATCH-IT and MoodGYM: Online Therapy?

One approach to providing mental health treatment that has emerged in the past few years is the use of online workbooks or exercises to supplement counseling or therapy. The idea is not to replace face-to-face therapy, but to provide assistance to those who cannot seek regular mental health care (for example, those in remote rural areas).

Two projects worth investigating are CATCH-IT, for adolescents, and MoodGYM, for adults. MoodGYM is designed to replicate Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) and been shown to be effective in randomized, controlled trials. Both models provide visitors with assessment tools and exercises aimed at reducing current and future symptoms of depression.

You have to set up user accounts to use the sites, but it is possible to do so quickly and with the intention of exploring the site. Of course, you can use it to attempt to improve your own mental health, but keep in mind the sites are not intended to replace normal mental health care.

Oh, How the Mighty Have Fallen!

One of the most impressive (and sometimes frustrating) parts of teaching psychology is that, as a science, it is a subject constantly in a state of change. What we believe and assume to be true one day can (and often does) turn out to be not true the next. I would argue this is GOOD, because with each corrected error we get closer to the truth! Or...what we think is the truth.

I've recently been alerted by fellow bloggers of two very popular theories in psychology that are now under scrutiny. First, the folks at Neurotopia have provided an excellent background and critique of the Serotonin Theory of Depression in "Serotonin Theory (and why it's probably wrong)". Students in my classes will be talking about this theory within the next few weeks. Basically, it's the idea that depression may be caused by a lack of the neurotransmitter serotonin. The above article suggests that the picture on this is hardly clear.

Second, Michael Britt's most recent post on The PsychFiles concerns "The Learning Styles Myth: An Interview with Daniel Willingham." The interviewee, Daniel Willingham, calls into question the notion of "learning styles," a popular idea within educational psychology. In a nutshell, it claims that there are "visual learners", "kinesthetic learners", etc. and is closely related to Howard Gardener's ideas of Mulitple Intelligences. Willingham is not convinced. Maybe you shouldn't be either. Listen to the podcast and see what you think.

Perhaps either or both of these theories will go the way of Structuralism? Yeah, remember THAT term from Chapter 1?