Professor Helen Christensen

Black Dog Institute/University of New South Wales, NSW
Mental Health Research Grant 2012

Director of the Centre for Mental Health Research at the Australian National University and a NHMRC Senior Principal Research Fellow. Broader research area covers Research in Public Health and Research in Mental Health. Author of over 300 refereed journal articles, seven consumer books and three open access websites. Areas of interest include the evaluation of internet applications/online programs for the prevention and treatment of mental disorders, the quality of websites, the integration of new technologies into health care, the development of evidence – informed policy and methods to measure impact and dissemination.

Holds a PhD from The University of New South Wales, a Master of Psychology from the University of New South Wales and a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) from The University of Sydney.
 
SUMMARY OF PROJECT:
Living with deadly thoughts: Reducing suicidal thoughts through a web-based self-help intervention 

In Australia, approximately 2,500 persons die by suicide each year. Suicidality is particularly prevalent in young people aged 16-24 years, and is the most common cause of death in Australians aged 15-44. Although effective treatments exist, many young suicidal people do not receive treatment (Bruffaerts, et al., 2011). Young people also prefer informal sources of help over formal ones (Ryan, et al., 2010). There are indications that young persons who experience suicidality have a preference for more anonymous and less personal forms of help (Rickwood, et al., 2005). Evidence also indicates that individuals at risk of suicide are online seeking “others like themselves”.
 
It is therefore important to design accessible and effective prevention programs that young people at risk of suicide can reach access directly. The internet provides the opportunity to engage with individuals at risk of suicide, and to offer evidence based anonymous, 24/7 prevention programs.
 
The project proposed here aspires to implement and test a web-based self-help intervention aimed at reducing suicidal thoughts. Materials from a recently studied Dutch online self-help intervention have been translated into English, adapted to the Australian context, and are planned to be implemented on the web, and subjected to rigorous testing using randomized controlled trial methodology. Year 1 will involve the development of the website. Years 2 and 3 will involve the implementation of a large randomised controlled trial based on the procedures organised during the feasibility trial.
 
To our knowledge, this will be the first online self-help program aimed specifically at reducing suicidal thoughts available in English.