Trial of three-week diary treatment

Researchers from the School of Psychology at Deakin University are conducting an online study into the effectiveness of a brief diary in the treatment of anxiety disorders and depression.

What is the purpose of this study?

This is an online study to investigate the effectiveness of a brief three-week diary in the treatment of anxiety disorders and depression.  There is research evidence that the treatment approach used in this diary study is associated with increased wellbeing and improved perceived sleep quality and with lower levels of anxiety and depression. This project aims to build on that research, using a robust design and an Australian sample.

Who do we need to participate?

Adults (18 years and over), with a formal diagnosis of an anxiety disorder and/or depression, who live in Australia and are able to read English fluently.

What does participation in this study involve?

Participants will be asked to complete an initial set of questionnaires about wellbeing and mood.

Then they will be randomly allocated to one of two groups. Half of the participants will commence the study diary immediately and half will commence three weeks after their first visit to the project website.

The diary will take about five minutes a day, three days a week for three weeks. 

Participants will also be asked to return to the project website to complete a series of questionnaires, on either three or four occasions, over 6 to 9 weeks. The questionnaires will take about 30 minutes to complete on each occasion, for a total of about 90-120 minutes.

How will the information be used?:

The information gathered will be used within the thesis written for this research project and may be used within articles published in peer review journals.

All information gathered will be permanently de-identified at the end of the study.   Any published information will be provided in such a way that no individual participant could be identified.

Who is conducting this trial?

Principal Researcher: Ms Emma Gould
Student Researcher: Ms Sharon Southwell

The research supervisors include Ms Emma Gould, Lecturer, School of Psychology, Deakin University (Waterfront Campus). 

Where to get more information about the trial

For further information, contact the study co-ordinator Sharon Southwell on ssouthwe@deakin.edu.au or to learn more and enter the study, go to: http://www.deakin.edu.au/psychology/research/diarystudy

Auspicing Institution and Ethics Committee Approval:

Deakin University. This project has Ethics clearance through the Deakin University Human Research Ethics Unit (Project 2011-245).