Virtual therapist developed
The treatment can be effective after only a few 15-minute sessions at the computer or smart phone. Image: DNY59/iStockphoto A new approach to preventing and treating anxiety and depression may be used to improve the emotional health of fly-in fly-out workers and people living in bushfire-prone areas.The new approach, known as cognitive bias modification (CBM), has been developed by researchers involved in a world-leading study at The University of Western Australia.Led by Winthrop Professor Colin MacLeod, from UWA's Elizabeth Rutherford Memorial Centre for the Advancement of Research on Emotion (CARE), the team has already published studies that show how CBM works for anxiety and addictions.The treatment works by altering automatic and unconscious biases in the way people selectively process emotional information, using simple computer programs and smart phone applications. It can be effective after only a few 15-minute sessions and does not use drug or counselling therapy. All it requires is to...