INTRODUCTION: Therapist-guided internet interventions have increased access to care for a range of psychiatric and somatic conditions during the last decades. However, there is still a need for more easily accessible self-care interventions to improve treatment dissemination further. Brief digital self-care interventions, i.e. self-help interventions without therapist-guidance that are given together with a clinical assessment interview, reduce both patient burden and clinical resources.
METHODS: A new individually tailored self-care intervention for anxiety and low mood has been developed and will be tested in a pilot study. The study is a single-blind randomized controlled trial with parallel arms design. Participants are randomized to one of two groups: with or without weekly support from a therapist during the intervention. The intervention is eight weeks long and consists of less text and less number of exercises compared to the more comprehensive therapist-guided internet interventions used in Swedish routine care. A telephone interview evaluating the intervention will take place at the end of the eight weeks. The goal is to recruit 160 participants.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: The design of the self-care intervention and preliminary efficacy data from the trial will be presented. Data on participant characteristics, adherence and choice of tailored problem area will also be shown. If successful, self-care interventions can further increase accessibility to care for people suffering with low mood and anxiety. Future studies aim to adapt the level of support by a clinician based on participant response to the self-care intervention, i.e. offering more support to participants that have a predicted negative outcome of the intervention.