eMH resources are a valuable addition to a general practitioner’s repertoire of treatment options for mild to moderate common mental health conditions. Many GPs have some concerns about how best to encourage patients to use online resources and to engage with and adhere to online treatment programs.

In this webinar sixteen year-old Liam, who has recently begun experiencing panic attacks, will help us explore strategies for successfully referring to emH programs and resources. He has found some resources for himself but needs our guidance to decide what further treatment and support would be best for him.

Dr Genevieve Yates, GP and Medical Educator with MDA National and Black Dog Institute will join us to discuss resources and programs suitable for Liam and strategies we can use with all our patients to integrate valuable eMH tools into their care. We will look at some of the obstacles to eMH use and consider ways of overcoming them.

To participate in this webinar, it would be useful for participants to have some level of familiarity with e-Mental Health. This can be gained by:

• watching an on-demand recording of a previously delivered webinar http://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/education-training/health-professionals/emental-health-in-practice/free-accredited-webinars
• watch this patient education video about PTSD https://vimeo.com/122510758
• Read the article “e-Therapy in Primary Care Mental Health” by Dr Jan Orman and Dr Bridianne O’Dea in the April edition of the Australian Journal of General Practice https://www.racgp.org.au/AJGP/Home
• complete the accredited 1-hour educational program about eMH developed by Black Dog Institute and Think GP https://thinkgp.com.au/education/using-e-mental-health-programs-your-practice

The webinar series

The webinar series examines some of the online mental health treatment programs that GPs need to know about, focusing on evidence-based programs that have been developed in Australia. The evidence around the efficacy and usefulness of different programs will be discussed along with practical aspects of using the programs.

Summary:

• e-Mental Health programs are a useful adjunct to mental health treatment in primary care
• there is good evidence that patient outcomes improve with the use of e-Mental Health programs
• a variety of locally-developed e-Mental Health programs are available
• GPs need to be familiar with the programs their patients are using and be able to recommend the use of these programs appropriately.

Audience

GPs and GP registrars, psychologists and allied mental health practitioners, in fact any health professional with an interest in improving outcomes for patients with mental health conditions.