Guided e-therapy during COVID-19 proved effective: Study

  • Date: 20-Mar-2023
  • Source: Muscat Daily
  • Sector:Healthcare
  • Country:Oman
  • Who else needs to know?

Guided e-therapy during COVID-19 proved effective: Study



Muscat – A new research showed the effectiveness of online therapy over self-administered therapy in reducing anxiety and depression linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study – conducted by Dr Mohammed Salim al Alawi, consultation-liaison psychiatrist at the Department of Behavioural Medicine at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital – won the 9th National Research Award, organised by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation for its interesting revelation.

Titled Efficacy of a Six-Week-Long Therapist-Guided Online Therapy Versus Self-help Internet-Based Therapy for COVID-19-Induced Anxiety and Depression, the study went into comparatively assessing the efficacy of therapist-guided online therapy with that of self-help, web-based therapy focused on COVID-19–induced symptoms of anxiety and depression among individuals living in Oman.

Through the study, Dr Alawi and his team provided preliminary evidence to support the effectiveness of online therapy to reduce the anxiety and depression that originated from the pandemic. It also showed that therapy provided by trained counsellors has a better impact than self-administered therapy.

In the first phase, the research team surveyed a sample of 1,580 participants, among which 30 per cent (474 participants) were found suffering from anxiety and depression, while during the second phase, the research team randomly selected 44 participants out of the 474