Millions of people lack access to mental health treatment due to barriers such as limited therapist availability, long wait times, high cost, and stigma. The COVID-19 pandemic has problematically increased demand for treatment while decreasing access. Because the internet is widely available, many people first turn to the internet for mental health support, giving rise to massive online psychotherapy, counseling and peer-to-peer support platforms such as Ginger and Talklife. However, not all conversations lead to improvement and may miss opportunities to help or even make things worse as platforms struggle to keep up with the increasing demands and lack methods for evaluating and promoting high-quality conversations.
This project seeks to improve the quality and scalability of online mental health support through real-time, evidence-based conversation feedback. We will leverage and analyze datasets of support interactions and associated outcomes across millions of individuals that use the partnering online mental health platforms at Ginger and Talklife. Our goal is to develop and pilot-test artificial intelligence methods that provide supporters on these platforms with practical just-in-time feedback and training. If successful, at least three benefits will follow our work. First, millions of help seekers using partnering mental health platforms Ginger and Talklife will receive higher quality responses through, for example, an expression of higher empathy. Second, those providing help will gain expertise faster and with less distress. Third, platforms and researchers will discover conversational best practices which can then be used to improve helper training and quality evaluation.
Our goals for this project include (1) Design competency framework and learning objectives that define the role and scope of practice for a BHSS; (2) Scale the role for Washington state by creating processes for integrating the BHSS Clinical Training Program into existing four-year degree programs in the behavioral healthcare field; (3) Partner with Washington state higher education institutions to adopt the BHSS Clinical Training Program; (4) Develop curricular resources to share with Washington State colleges and universities including an Educator’s Guide; (5) Collaborate with government agencies, employers, and policy groups to implement legislation establishing a BHSS credential in Washington state.
For information, please contact:
Bill O’Connell, Ed.D.
Director, Clinical Training Program
Savannah Tidwell, BS
tidwell1@uw.edu
Program Manager, Clinical Training Program
Healthcare workers and first responders working during the COVID-19 pandemic have experienced increased exposure to suffering and loss; prolonged work hours; and increased personal risk. Although associated increases in psychiatric symptoms and occupational burnout are well documented, what aspects of the experiences are most strongly associated with negative outcomes over time – and what interventions are most likely to protect healthcare workers and first responders – are poorly understood.
The ATTEND study is designed to address the impact of occupational stress related to working during the COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers and first responders (police, fire, EMTs) through a national longitudinal survey paired with a local interventional clinical trial. The interventional clinical trial is designed to test the impact of treating sleep disruption with prazosin during or shortly after the period of exposure.
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders affect one in seven pregnant and postpartum women nationwide, making them the most common complication of pregnancy. Unfortunately, only one in 20 women who need treatment for these conditions actually receives it. This translates to a multigenerational issue, which can negatively affect the mother and child’s long-term physical, emotional and developmental health. It also means an estimated $14.2 billion annually in societal costs in the U.S. alone. While not every perinatal individual with mental health concerns has access to a mental health provider, cell phones and text messaging are ubiquitous. Nonjudgmental support delivered through text messaging may be a low cost approach to reaching women who need emotional support in the perinatal period.
Our project aims to evaluate a text-based mentoring program, the Nurture Program, and assess whether it is possible to support mothers through their third trimester of pregnancy and nine months postpartum and enhance their emotional well-being. The Nurture Program combines the convenience of secure text messaging with the personalization of having a trained peer mentor with whom the mother can develop a trusting relationship. This program also provides resources on child development, connections to local support agencies and suggestions for parent-child bonding and parental wellness activities. Surveyed participants of the Nurture Program consistently report their mentor helped them feel less stressed and more confident in their role as a parent. This study will allow us to measure the impact of this cost-effective approach to promoting perinatal emotional well-being.
Perinatal depression affects 10-20% of pregnant and postpartum individuals, impairing parenting self-efficacy and mother-infant interactions and contributing to negative maternal-child outcomes. This research will test comprehensive perinatal depression treatment, Maternal Infant and Dyadic Care (MInD), which includes a brief version of the Promoting First Relationships parenting intervention implemented within perinatal collaborative care, against perinatal collaborative care (CC) only. The aims of this study are to (1) compare the effects of MInD vs. usual perinatal CC on depression, (2) explore associations between parenting self-efficacy, dyadic interaction, and depression to inform a mediational hypothesis, and (3) examine and compare care utilization, trial feasibility, and perceived match of treatment to patient need.
This study aims to refine and test a brief intervention (CARE) that aims to promote recovery in recent sexual assault survivors. CARE is delivered to supporters of sexual assault survivors (e.g., friends, family members, romantic partners), with or without the survivor present. It aims to encourage conversations about the assault and decrease negative reactions by the supporter. In stage 1 of this study, we will conduct feedback sessions with 8-10 dyads of survivors and their supporters to finalize the intervention materials. In stage 2, we will conduct a pilot clinical trial of CARE with 60 dyads, who will be randomized to dyadic intervention, supporter-only intervention, or waitlist control.
LGBT Veterans have faced a long history of stigma, discrimination, and exclusionary policies that were intended to exclude them from military service. Despite recent shifts in policy and increased staff trainings, existing evidence suggests that this group is at high risk for health disparities, particularly with respect to mental health and health risk behaviors. While informative, the research to date has been limited in several respects: cross-sectional designs, collapsing LGBT subgroups, severe lack of data on some subgroups, problems with identifying a comparison group, and lack of data on risk and protective factors and care experiences. This prospective cohort study will fill these gaps, recruiting and conducting surveys online with 1,600 Veterans to identify health disparities, test a conceptual model of prospective risk and protective factors, and assess VA utilization, barriers to care, and treatment preferences. Data from this study will inform future intervention efforts to achieve health equity for LGBT Veterans.
This pilot study will leverage Veteran expertise to inform user-centered design improvements and will pilot the effectiveness of a computerized intervention targeting anxiety sensitivity among this patient population.
