MORGANTOWN — The Appalachian Mind Health Initiative is a research study to see if electronic Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, a type of online therapy, is a good treatment option for people living with depression in rural communities.
The AMHI study is led by Dr. Robert Bossarte, director of the Injury Control Research Center and associate professor in the department of behavioral medicine and psychiatry at West Virginia University and Dr. Ronald Kessler, McNeil Family Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School.
Adults living in West Virginia or Kentucky with a diagnosis of depression and just beginning treatment may be eligible to participate. Study participants will be asked to complete a total of 10 study assessments during the course of a year.
Upon completion of the baseline survey, participants will be randomized to one of three groups: treatment as usual, unguided eCBT, or guided eCBT. All eligible participants can receive up to $290 for completing study tasks.
AMHI hopes to address the mismatch between treatment availability and treatment preferences for those living in rural communities by offering eCBT and analyzing the differences between treatment effects. There is a great appeal to remotely delivered psychotherapy in rural areas due to the scarcity of psychotherapists trained in face-to-face CBT and hesitation to pursue treatment due to expense, stigma, geographic availability and general inconvenience.
One of the goals of the AMHI study is to find enough evidence to fill this gap in care and make treatment for depression readily available and easily accessible for the Appalachian area. The results of AMHI will provide actionable information for future patients and providers on when and for whom eCBT would be beneficial.
To learn more about AMHI, visit amhi-home.org. For questions about the research study, contact AMHI study number at 1-866-984-AMHI (2644).
If you or someone you know is in crisis, contact your doctor immediately. Additional help is available through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
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