A Decade in Review: A Systematic Review of Virtual Reality Interventions for Emotional Disorders.

Research is increasingly demonstrating the therapeutic benefits of virtual reality interventions for various mental health conditions, though these rarely translate from research to application in clinical settings. This systematic review aims to examine the efficacy of current virtual reality interventions for emotional disorders, with a focus on clinical and technological features that influence translation of treatments from research to clinical practice. A comprehensive systematic literature search was conducted following PRISMA guidelines, for studies including the application of a virtual reality intervention to a clinical population of adults with an emotional disorder.

Investigative interviewing of youth with ADHD - recommendations for detective training.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in youth can lead to a trajectory of early and repeated contact with the criminal justice system (CJS), where such youth face significant challenges due to the nature of their diagnosis and the lack of specialized detective training in this area. This article reviews Australian detectives' perceptions regarding contact with ADHD-affected youth, ongoing contact of such youth with the CJS, and the impact of ADHD on interviewing time efficiency and quality of information gathered. It explores detectives' perceived impact of ADHD on components of the Cognitive Interview (CI).

Organizational and Policy Barriers to the Use of Digital Mental Health by Mental Health Professionals.

Digital mental health (DMH) provides effective methods of overcoming issues of time constraints, accessibility, and availability of mental health care. They can provide a valuable means to deliver mental health care in the present pandemic. However, adoption of these methods has been slow.

Police perceptions of the impact that ADHD has on conducting cognitive interviews with youth.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in youth witnesses, victims and suspects can significantly impact the investigative interviewing process. In this study, 102 Child Protection Investigation Unit (CPIU) detectives were asked to read four vignettes of adolescents being interviewed by police, two as witnesses and two as suspects, in which one witness and one suspect display ADHD-type behaviour. The detectives rated the degree to which the behaviour in each vignette would impact the interviewer's ability to use the 10 key components of the cognitive interview (CI).

Development of a measure of stigma towards occupational stress for mental health professionals.

Purpose: Stigma is a common barrier to mental health professionals (MHPs) seeking help for occupational stress and burnout, although there is a lack of psychometrically sound tools to measure this construct. The current study aimed to develop and validate a scale (the Mental Health Professional Stigma Scale; MHPSS) for this purpose.

Methods: The MHPSS and related measures were completed by 221 Australian MHPs via online survey, with a subsample completing the MHPSS again 2 weeks after initial completion.

Development of the eTAP-T: A measure of mental health professionals' attitudes and process towards e-interventions.

Background: The development of technological applications within psychotherapy has opened up new opportunities for mental health professionals (MHPs) to address client need. Despite the clinical efficacy and utility of evidence-based electronic interventions, MHPs' engagement with these interventions remains poorly understood.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to develop and conduct a preliminary psychometric investigation of the measurement properties of the electronic-therapy attitudes and process questionnaire - therapist version (eTAP-T).

Development of the eTAP: A brief measure of attitudes and process in e-interventions for mental health.

Background: Considerable evidence supports the efficacy of e-interventions for mental health treatment and support. However, client engagement and adherence to these interventions are less than optimal and remain poorly understood.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to develop and investigate the psychometric properties of the e-Therapy Attitudes and Process questionnaire (eTAP).

What do help-seeking measures assess? Building a conceptualization framework for help-seeking intentions through a systematic review of measure content.

Mental health services are underutilised by people who could benefit from treatment. Research into help-seeking intentions (HSI) is required to support interventions to increase service use. Existing HSI measures are not psychometrically robust and problems with content validity undermine research in this field.

Can the Perceived Barriers to Psychological Treatment Scale be used to investigate treatment barriers among females with disordered and non-disordered eating behaviours?

There is a lack of psychometrically sound instruments to assess treatment barriers among individuals with disordered eating behaviours. This study examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Perceived Barriers to Psychological Treatment scale (PBPT; Mohr et al., 2010) among a sample of individuals with disordered eating behaviours.

Going global: do consumer preferences, attitudes, and barriers to using e-mental health services differ across countries?

Background: e-Mental health services have the capacity to overcome barriers to care and reduce the unmet need for psychological services, particularly in developing countries. However, it is unknown how acceptable e-mental health interventions may be to these populations.

Aims: The purpose of the current study was to examine consumer attitudes and perceived barriers to e-mental health usage across four countries: Australia, Iran, the Philippines and South Africa.

Psychosocial interventions for managing occupational stress and burnout among medical doctors: a systematic review.

Background: Occupational stress and burnout are highly prevalent among medical doctors and can have adverse effects on patient, doctor, and organisational outcomes. The purpose of the current study was to review and evaluate evidence on psychosocial interventions aimed at reducing occupational stress and burnout among medical doctors.

Method: A systematic review was conducted for original research articles reporting on psychosocial interventions targeting occupational stress or burnout among medical doctors, published in the English language, and with data collected at a minimum of two time points.

Self-injury in young people and the help-negation effect.

This study examined the relationship between self-injurious behavior and intentions to seek help from professionals, family and friends, technology based support and from no-one. Participants were 679 young people aged 14-25 years drawn from a larger internet survey (N =1463) on the basis of their reported self-injury. A help-negation effect was found only in relation to intentions to seek help from family and friends.

Internet-Based Delivery of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Compared to Monitoring, Feedback and Support for Problem Gambling: A Randomised Controlled Trial.

The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of an Internet-based cognitive behavioural therapy program (I-CBT) for the treatment of problem gambling, when compared to a waitlist control and an active comparison condition consisting of monitoring, feedback, and support (I-MFS). Participants (N = 174) were randomly allocated to the three conditions. Variables of interest were gambling outcome and related mental health measures.

The Therapy Attitudes and Process Questionnaire: A Brief Measure of Factors Related to Psychotherapy Appointment Attendance.

Background: Patient non-attendance and dropout remains problematic in mental health settings. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) has proven useful in understanding such challenges in a variety of healthcare settings, but the absence of an adequate measure in mental health has hampered research in this area.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to develop and conduct an initial psychometric investigation of a brief measure, the Therapy Attitudes and Process Questionnaire (TAP), utilizing the TPB to understand factors associated with attendance in mental health settings.

Assessing treatment barriers in eating disorders: A systematic review.

This systematic review evaluated methods used to assess treatment barriers among individuals with eating disorders or disordered eating. A total of 11 studies were identified and evaluated according to attributes considered important in the accurate assessment of treatment barriers. The majority of studies used qualitative methods, with five studies utilizing either a checklist or scale-based instrument.

Outcomes associated with virtual reality in psychological interventions: where are we now?

The impending commercial release of affordable VR systems is likely to accelerate both the opportunity and demand for VR applications that specifically target psychological conditions. The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis of outcomes associated with VR psychological interventions and to examine the methodological rigour used in these interventions. Literature search was conducted via Ovid, ProQuest Psychology Journals and ScienceDirect (Psychology) databases.

Using SMS reminders in psychology clinics: a cautionary tale.

Background: As healthcare services become progressively more stretched, there is increasing discussion of ways in which technological adjuncts may be used to deliver more cost-efficient services. Before widespread implementation, however, the use of these adjuncts requires proper scrutiny of their effects on psychological practice.

Aims: This research examined the effectiveness of SMS reminders on client appointment attendance and dropout in a psychological treatment setting.

The impact of information on attitudes toward e-mental health services.

E-mental health services are Internet-based treatment options for mental illness. There has been a proliferation of these services in recent years, with online programs now available for the treatment of mood, anxiety, eating, adjustment, and substance use disorders. (1) E-mental health services allow for greater dissemination of psychological treatments, are cost effective, and may overcome a number of client barriers to care.

Breathe Easier Online: evaluation of a randomized controlled pilot trial of an Internet-based intervention to improve well-being in children and adolescents with a chronic respiratory condition.

Background: Chronic respiratory illnesses are the most common group of childhood chronic health conditions and are overrepresented in socially isolated groups.

Objective: To conduct a randomized controlled pilot trial to evaluate the efficacy of Breathe Easier Online (BEO), an Internet-based problem-solving program with minimal facilitator involvement to improve psychosocial well-being in children and adolescents with a chronic respiratory condition.

Methods: We randomly assigned 42 socially isolated children and adolescents (18 males), aged between 10 and 17 years to either a BEO (final n = 19) or a wait-list control (final n = 20) condition.

Dropout from computer-based interventions for children and adolescents with chronic health conditions.

Dropout is a frequent problem in face-to-face psychological interventions. However, little is known regarding dropout in computer-based interventions (CBIs). It is important to understand the extent to which children and adolescents drop out of CBIs, so we can ensure that more people complete the programmes to gain maximum benefit.

Technological adjuncts to increase adherence to therapy: a review.

This paper identified and reviewed technological adjuncts to increase client adherence to therapy. Three areas of adherence were identified, namely treatment dropout and non-attendance, engagement during and between therapy sessions, and aftercare. Database searches were conducted in each of these areas to identify relevant studies published between the years of 1990 and 2010.

Technological adjuncts to enhance current psychotherapy practices: a review.

Although there are several of reviews of technology in psychology, none to date has focused on technological adjuncts for improving traditional face to face therapy. However, examination of response, adherence, and dropout rates suggests there is considerable scope for improving traditional face to face services. The purpose of this paper was to examine technological adjuncts used to enhance psychotherapy practice.

Effectiveness of group and individual formats of a combined motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral treatment program for problem gambling: a randomized controlled trial.

Background: The study aimed to assess the effectiveness of group and individual formats of a combined motivational interviewing and cognitive behavioral treatment (CBT) program for problem gamblers (PGs) using a randomized controlled design.

Method: One hundred and two PGs were randomly assigned to individual or group CBT conditions. Twenty-eight of these participants were randomly allocated to a 6-week waitlist control condition prior to receiving the designated treatment.

Dropout from Internet-based treatment for psychological disorders.

Purpose: The purpose of this review was to present an in-depth analysis of literature identifying the extent of dropout from Internet-based treatment programmes for psychological disorders, and literature exploring the variables associated with dropout from such programmes.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PSYCHINFO and PUBMED with the keywords: dropouts, drop out, dropout, dropping out, attrition, premature termination, termination, non-compliance, treatment, intervention, and program, each in combination with the key words Internet and web. A total of 19 studies published between 1990 and April 2009 and focusing on dropout from Internet-based treatment programmes involving minimal therapist contact were identified and included in the review.

Measuring self-efficacy in gambling: the Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire.

This paper reports on the development and psychometric properties of a Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GRSEQ). Two hundred and ninety-seven gamblers from both normal and clinical populations completed an initial set of 31-items of which 26 were selected for inclusion in the final version of the GRSEQ. A series of factor analyses showed four clear factors accounting for 84% of the variance.