In the article by Saulsberry,
et.al, an Internet program for minority youth suffering from depression is
described. The CURB program is an updated version of a previous program the
authors had established for youth suffering from depression. The basic premise
of the program is to provide modules for youth to help them prevent behaviors
that encourage depressive moods. The first part of the program was geared
toward engaging the youth in meaningful activities and incorporating healthy
activities in to their daily routine. The second part of the program was meant
to teach the youth how to identify and reverse pessimistic and irrational
thoughts. The last part of the program was to help participants learn to cope
with transitions and to identify and resolve conflicts in relationships.
The program is described in the
article as being culturally adapted for socio-economically disadvantaged
African-American and Latino adolescents. Besides being appealing to minority
youth, the program was low-cost and based out of a primary care physician’s
office. These qualities, the authors thought, would be particularly appealing
to populations who often struggle with face-to-face interventions. There was
also a program component that was targeted to the parents of the youth who were
participating in the program. This helped parents to learn to identify symptoms
of depression in themselves and their children as well as teach them how to
communicate with their child that has depression.
I thought this article was very
interesting because I have never heard of an internet-based prevention program like
this before. When I think of prevention and intervention I usually think of
face-to-face interaction, which this program was specifically trying to avoid.
I liked that the creators of this program were thinking of ways to make mental
health services more accessible to youth and young adults, especially those
that associate stigma with the services or do not have the money to obtain the
services. However, one concern that I had while reading the article was the
lack of clinician contact while completing the program. In the article it
stated that clinicians would call to check in periodically while the youth was
completing the modules and then call to check on their progress after they had
completed the program. However, to me it seems more beneficial for youth with
depression to have their own unique experience with the therapist that is
tailored to fit their needs. This article did not suggest ways in which the
program could adapt to different needs of youth enrolled in the program aside
from their cultural needs.
Although I have my concerns about
the program meeting the needs of the youth who are depressed, I also think a program
similar to this might be beneficial to my clients. I work with young mothers
who have just had children as an early prevention for abuse and neglect. We try
to see these young women once a week to provide parent education and resources
in the home. However, it might be interesting to try something similar to the
CURB program for our mothers, such as providing online modules to complete
based on parenting skills or other life skills that would be applicable to
their situations. After reading this article, I was given a lot to think about
regarding the future of mental health services.
Shelby-
ReplyDeleteThank you for summarizing and ruminating over this article! I have often wondered in our age of rapid technology- how close is someone to developing a logarithmic form of therapy? A program that would intake concerns and spit out a response based on a formula. It almost sounds like sci-fi social work- it honestly would not surprise me if something like this is soon developed. As technologies continue to advance, however, it is even more important to evaluate the efficacy of the programming.
I like the program that was developed in this situation because it addressed very real concerns- namely stigma associated with receiving mental health services, the cost of individual therapy, and discomfort in face-to-face interventions. A multitude of research has proven, however, that a clinician who is able to develop a good rapport with a client can assist the client in making serious life-long changes. This ‘human relationship’, a core value of social work, cannot be replaced regardless of how innovative technology becomes. With many disorders, depression included, learning how to think differently or replace thoughts cannot simply be learned by reading an article or watching a movie clip. If this were the case, our job as clinicians would be to pass out books or develop computer programs. This, however, is not the case. As clinicians, we enter into the same space as the depressed client. We meet the client where they are at, use the best tools we have available (therapies, collaboration, interdisciplinary practice), and try to combat the micro and macro systems working against the person. If we fail, we try something new. This cannot be simulated by a program- no matter how sophisticated.
Ultimately, I agree with your concerns and with the idea that new software can be really beneficial for our clients. You mentioned the possibility of parenting modules. I think this type of software could be really beneficial for something like that and other areas of psycho-education for clients. I think this type of technology could answer a lot of questions that our clients have and could do so uniformly and consistently. It would, however, always have to be supplemented with a real-life person available to answer questions and role-play when necessary/ appropriate.
I think of the Trauma-Focused CBT module which we learned online. The program was effective in explaining the theory and the steps, but we still relied on Dr. Ruffolo to put the theory into a practical context and role play the therapy with classmates. This is how I see the future of technology in social-work. If effectively used, I think technology can break down stigmatic barriers and provide psycho-education, but it will always need to be monitored closely by a caring, competent clinician.