Today, the Wise Group joint chief executives Jacqui Graham and Julie Nelson, hosted Green Party Co-leader James Shaw for a behind the scenes look at the data we have collected from our free online therapy tool, Just a Thought.
James Shaw, who is also the Minister of Statistics, took the opportunity to find out about the tool and the number of New Zealanders it has been supporting. Since Just a Thought’s launch in September last year, close to 8,000 New Zealanders have signed up to access a free course. This includes more than 900 health professionals have registered to prescribe Just a Thought to their patients. (as of February 2020)
Just a Thought programme lead, Charlie David, says the uptake of the tool since its launch has been extremely positive. He says, “we believe this rate of growth shows that New Zealanders have a need for highly flexible, immediately accessible, digital treatment options to support their mental wellbeing.”
Preliminary feedback from learners who have completed a course has been encouraging, with 82 per cent of respondents reporting that they’ve been satisfied with their experience using Just a Thought to improve their wellbeing.
For some, Just a Thought has been their first opportunity to access cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Here’s what one participant had to say:
“I have been told I would benefit from CBT many times, but because it’s expensive to do I haven’t been able to get the help. I’ve really appreciated the opportunity to do this course.”
Just a Thought currently offers courses in depression and anxiety. Other courses will be available in the next couple of years which will include mixed depression and anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress, health anxiety, panic disorder, social anxiety, chronic pain, TeenStrong (a course aimed at teenagers experiencing depression and anxiety), coping with stress, introduction to mindfulness and managing insomnia.
Published on: 26 February 2020