Current Momentum Research
The Momentum research team are always looking for ways to improve the mental health and wellbeing of young Australians. On this page, we invite you to explore our current research projects. You’ll find details of our current projects below, and how you can participate. Together, let’s build a brighter future for young Australians!
Finding the right balance of ‘support’
Testing a new digital model of care for child and adolescent anxiety in regional communities
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Does your child or teenager have difficulty with anxiety?
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Are they aged 7-17 years?
-
Do you live in a regional, rural, or remote area of Australia?
If you answered “Yes” to all three questions, you’re invited to help researchers at the University of Southern Queensland provide better services for regional and rural Australian families by testing a free, online program for child and adolescent anxiety. We are interested in finding what type of support works best for families in regional areas, and how you would like to receive it.
Click on the sections below to answer any questions you have about this project.
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems encountered by young Australians. If left untreated, anxiety disorders can persist into adulthood, and are associated with personal, family, social, and economic consequences. However, gaining access to a psychologist can be difficult. Workforce shortages, high costs and long wait times can all make it difficult for families to access treatment and these issues are often worse in regional and rural settings.
Internet based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (iCBT) is an effective and affordable treatment tool, that offers similar outcomes to in-person treatment. However, we now know that people like to use iCBT differently. Sometimes children find iCBT programs easier when they also receive support from a therapist through videoconferencing or email, but other children prefer to do the program on their own. We also know that families living in regional areas might not always be able to use videoconferencing, but still want support. Therefore, to make iCBT more relevant to regional communities, we need to understand how therapist support can be integrated into iCBT, in a way that suits regional families.
Our team of experts have developed a digital mental health intervention for anxiety, that includes therapist support, and is specifically designed for regional areas. We’ve talked to lots of parents and children about how best to do this and have 20 years’ experience delivering digital programs. The purpose of this project is to compare whether this new iCBT program leads to better outcomes among regional families, than an iCBT program that involves no therapist support and is entirely self-help.
This project is being undertaken through the University of Southern Queensland, with help from Griffith University and Australian National University.
If you choose to participate in this study, both you and your child will be asked to compete an additional online questionnaire (around 10 minutes) and a phone interview with one of our researchers, at a time that is convenient to you. Both children and parents will complete an interview; Children will take between 30-40 minutes and parents will take between 30-60 minutes.
If your child is eligible for this study, your child will then be randomly allocated into one of two groups:
- Group 1 will receive a 7-session iCBT anxiety program, WITH therapist support.
- Group 2 will receive a 7-session iCBT anxiety program, WITHOUT therapist support.
You will have an equal chance of being allocated to either of these groups. By agreeing to take part in this project, you understand that you and your child will be randomly allocated to either of these groups, and that and you won’t know which treatment you will receive before you consent.
So that we can determine how well the programs are working, we will ask you to complete some assessments on two further occasions; (1) 12 weeks after starting the program, (2) and 9 months after starting the program. In these assessments, you and your child will complete the same surveys again (approx. 20 minutes), and the same phone interview (as described above).
You will receive a $30 gift voucher at each of these follow-up assessment time points, to thank you for your time.
To participate in this study, you need to be aged 18 years or over and be the parent of a child with clinical level anxiety who:
- has a registered account on the Momentum platform;
- is aged between 7 – 17 years;
- resides in regional, rural or remote areas; and
- speaks and reads English proficiently (to be able to complete a phone interview and the treatment program).
You also must be willing to participate in either of the two groups explained above. Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary. If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw your consent and to discontinue participation at any time without any penalty to you or your child. Please understand that if either child or parent chooses to withdraw, you will not be able to continue.
If you or your child decide not to participate in this research, your child will be able to return to the general Momentum platform where they can freely access the self-help treatment programs via their Momentum account.
If you'd like to get started, you can begin by registering for Momentum using the "Register Now" button below, and completing your child's Momentum check-up. If they meet the eligibility criteria after completing their check-up, you will automatically be invited to learn more about this project and decide whether you'd like to participate.
Don’t worry, if you or your child decide not to participate in this research, your child will be able to return to the general Momentum platform where they can will have access to their tailored self-help treatment program via their Momentum account.
Helping young people in more ways than one!
Testing a new digital treatment program for young people with both depression and anxiety problems
If you are aged between 13-17 years, and suffer from problems with both anxiety and depression, then you may be eligible to participate in this research study!
Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health problems afflicting young Australians, and they often occur at the same time. Yet most online treatment programs focus on one problem only – depression OR anxiety, whichever is most severe. The Momentum Research Team, led by Griffith University, is interested in understanding whether a treatment program that addresses both anxiety AND depression, is more effective than treatments that address only anxiety OR depression.
Click on the sections below to answer any questions you have about this project.
Anxiety and depression are some of the most common mental health problems encountered by young Australians. If left untreated, they can can persist into adulthood, and are associated with personal, family, social, and economic consequences.
While internet delivered CBT (iCBT) has been shown to be effective in treating these issues in youth, programs usually only tackle one issue at a time. This can make treatment very long and time consuming. It could therefore be of benefit to young people, to have access to a single online program that can effectively treat more than one problem.
Our team of experts have developed a digital mental health intervention that targets both anxiety and depression – one program that helps both issues. The purpose of this project is to compare whether this new iCBT program leads to better outcomes than an iCBT program that targets only anxiety or only depression. When you register an account for your child, you will also create a parent/caregiver account. If your child is 15 years or under, you will have access to your own dashboard where you can view the results of your child's initial assessment (a summary report). This report will help you better understand any difficulties your child might be experiencing. On your dashboard, you will also find information and resources about how to support your child, as well as crisis and support information.
You will also receive an alert if your child's survey scores (either from the initial assessment or from ongoing weekly session surveys) suggest they are experiencing high levels of difficulty and require further assistance.
This project is being undertaken by the Momentum Research Team, led by Griffith University.
To participate in this study, you:
*Must be aged between 13 and 17 years
*Must not have an intellectual or developmental disorder (autism or developmental delay)
*Must not have a high level of active suicide risk
*Must not be receiving any other psychological treatment for your primary problem (anxiety or depression)
*Must not have begun or changed medications for anxiety or depression within the last six weeks
If you are eligible to participate, you will need your caregiver’s permission to start. After you both provide your consent, we will need to book in a time to speak with your caregiver over the phone. This call will take about 20 minutes and helps us make sure that the study will be suitable for you. You will not be able to participate in the research until this call has been completed.
If you are eligible for this study, you will be randomly allocated into one of two groups:
*Group 1 will receive a 10-session program addressing both anxiety AND depression.
*Group 2 will receive a 7-session program for either anxiety OR depression, depending on which of these issues is most severe for you.
We will ask you to complete one session of your program each week. You and your parent/guardian may also contact the research team at any time to request a phone call to discuss your progress.
So that we can determine how well the programs are working, we will ask you to fill in some online questionnaires for us on two other occasions:(1) three months after starting the program, and (2) nine months after starting the program. You will receive a $20 gift voucher at each of the three assessment timepoints, to thank you for your time.
Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary. If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw your consent and to discontinue participation at any time without any penalty.
If you'd like to get started, you can begin by registering for Momentum using the "Register Now" button below, and completing the Momentum check-up. If you meet the eligibility criteria after completing the check-up, you will automatically be invited to learn more about this project and decide whether you'd like to participate.
At any point, if you or your caregiver decide not to participate in this research, you will be able to return to the general Momentum platform where you can freely access the self-help treatment programs via your Momentum account.
Testing a new digital model of care for child and adolescent anxiety in regional communities
-
Does your child or teenager have difficulty with anxiety?
-
Are they aged 7-17 years?
-
Do you live in a regional, rural, or remote area of Australia?
If you answered “Yes” to all three questions, you’re invited to help researchers at the University of Southern Queensland provide better services for regional and rural Australian families by testing a free, online program for child and adolescent anxiety. We are interested in finding what type of support works best for families in regional areas, and how you would like to receive it.
Click on the sections below to answer any questions you have about this project.
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health problems encountered by young Australians. If left untreated, anxiety disorders can persist into adulthood, and are associated with personal, family, social, and economic consequences. However, gaining access to a psychologist can be difficult. Workforce shortages, high costs and long wait times can all make it difficult for families to access treatment and these issues are often worse in regional and rural settings.
Internet based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (iCBT) is an effective and affordable treatment tool, that offers similar outcomes to in-person treatment. However, we now know that people like to use iCBT differently. Sometimes children find iCBT programs easier when they also receive support from a therapist through videoconferencing or email, but other children prefer to do the program on their own. We also know that families living in regional areas might not always be able to use videoconferencing, but still want support. Therefore, to make iCBT more relevant to regional communities, we need to understand how therapist support can be integrated into iCBT, in a way that suits regional families.
Our team of experts have developed a digital mental health intervention for anxiety, that includes therapist support, and is specifically designed for regional areas. We’ve talked to lots of parents and children about how best to do this and have 20 years’ experience delivering digital programs. The purpose of this project is to compare whether this new iCBT program leads to better outcomes among regional families, than an iCBT program that involves no therapist support and is entirely self-help.
This project is being undertaken through the University of Southern Queensland, with help from Griffith University and Australian National University.
If you choose to participate in this study, both you and your child will be asked to compete an additional online questionnaire (around 10 minutes) and a phone interview with one of our researchers, at a time that is convenient to you. Both children and parents will complete an interview; Children will take between 30-40 minutes and parents will take between 30-60 minutes.
If your child is eligible for this study, your child will then be randomly allocated into one of two groups:
- Group 1 will receive a 7-session iCBT anxiety program, WITH therapist support.
- Group 2 will receive a 7-session iCBT anxiety program, WITHOUT therapist support.
You will have an equal chance of being allocated to either of these groups. By agreeing to take part in this project, you understand that you and your child will be randomly allocated to either of these groups, and that and you won’t know which treatment you will receive before you consent.
So that we can determine how well the programs are working, we will ask you to complete some assessments on two further occasions; (1) 12 weeks after starting the program, (2) and 9 months after starting the program. In these assessments, you and your child will complete the same surveys again (approx. 20 minutes), and the same phone interview (as described above).
You will receive a $30 gift voucher at each of these follow-up assessment time points, to thank you for your time.
To participate in this study, you need to be aged 18 years or over and be the parent of a child with clinical level anxiety who:
- has a registered account on the Momentum platform;
- is aged between 7 – 17 years;
- resides in regional, rural or remote areas; and
- speaks and reads English proficiently (to be able to complete a phone interview and the treatment program).
You also must be willing to participate in either of the two groups explained above. Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary. If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw your consent and to discontinue participation at any time without any penalty to you or your child. Please understand that if either child or parent chooses to withdraw, you will not be able to continue.
If you or your child decide not to participate in this research, your child will be able to return to the general Momentum platform where they can freely access the self-help treatment programs via their Momentum account.
If you'd like to get started, you can begin by registering for Momentum using the "Register Now" button below, and completing your child's Momentum check-up. If they meet the eligibility criteria after completing their check-up, you will automatically be invited to learn more about this project and decide whether you'd like to participate.
Don’t worry, if you or your child decide not to participate in this research, your child will be able to return to the general Momentum platform where they can will have access to their tailored self-help treatment program via their Momentum account.
Helping young people in more ways than one!
Testing a new digital treatment program for young people with both depression and anxiety problems
If you are aged between 13-17 years, and suffer from problems with both anxiety and depression, then you may be eligible to participate in this research study!
Anxiety and depression are two of the most common mental health problems afflicting young Australians, and they often occur at the same time. Yet most online treatment programs focus on one problem only – depression OR anxiety, whichever is most severe. The Momentum Research Team, led by Griffith University, is interested in understanding whether a treatment program that addresses both anxiety AND depression, is more effective than treatments that address only anxiety OR depression.
Click on the sections below to answer any questions you have about this project.
Anxiety and depression are some of the most common mental health problems encountered by young Australians. If left untreated, they can can persist into adulthood, and are associated with personal, family, social, and economic consequences.
While internet delivered CBT (iCBT) has been shown to be effective in treating these issues in youth, programs usually only tackle one issue at a time. This can make treatment very long and time consuming. It could therefore be of benefit to young people, to have access to a single online program that can effectively treat more than one problem.
Our team of experts have developed a digital mental health intervention that targets both anxiety and depression – one program that helps both issues. The purpose of this project is to compare whether this new iCBT program leads to better outcomes than an iCBT program that targets only anxiety or only depression. When you register an account for your child, you will also create a parent/caregiver account. If your child is 15 years or under, you will have access to your own dashboard where you can view the results of your child's initial assessment (a summary report). This report will help you better understand any difficulties your child might be experiencing. On your dashboard, you will also find information and resources about how to support your child, as well as crisis and support information.
You will also receive an alert if your child's survey scores (either from the initial assessment or from ongoing weekly session surveys) suggest they are experiencing high levels of difficulty and require further assistance.
This project is being undertaken by the Momentum Research Team, led by Griffith University.
To participate in this study, you:
*Must be aged between 13 and 17 years
*Must not have an intellectual or developmental disorder (autism or developmental delay)
*Must not have a high level of active suicide risk
*Must not be receiving any other psychological treatment for your primary problem (anxiety or depression)
*Must not have begun or changed medications for anxiety or depression within the last six weeks
If you are eligible to participate, you will need your caregiver’s permission to start. After you both provide your consent, we will need to book in a time to speak with your caregiver over the phone. This call will take about 20 minutes and helps us make sure that the study will be suitable for you. You will not be able to participate in the research until this call has been completed.
If you are eligible for this study, you will be randomly allocated into one of two groups:
*Group 1 will receive a 10-session program addressing both anxiety AND depression.
*Group 2 will receive a 7-session program for either anxiety OR depression, depending on which of these issues is most severe for you.
We will ask you to complete one session of your program each week. You and your parent/guardian may also contact the research team at any time to request a phone call to discuss your progress.
So that we can determine how well the programs are working, we will ask you to fill in some online questionnaires for us on two other occasions:(1) three months after starting the program, and (2) nine months after starting the program. You will receive a $20 gift voucher at each of the three assessment timepoints, to thank you for your time.
Your participation in this research is entirely voluntary. If you decide to participate, you are free to withdraw your consent and to discontinue participation at any time without any penalty.
If you'd like to get started, you can begin by registering for Momentum using the "Register Now" button below, and completing the Momentum check-up. If you meet the eligibility criteria after completing the check-up, you will automatically be invited to learn more about this project and decide whether you'd like to participate.
At any point, if you or your caregiver decide not to participate in this research, you will be able to return to the general Momentum platform where you can freely access the self-help treatment programs via your Momentum account.