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Program Reviews

myCompass

Overview

The tailored, interactive myCompass program assists users in the self-management of depression, anxiety, and stress through evidence-based therapeutic approaches and real-time symptom monitoring.

Further Descriptive Information: After registering, users of myCompass complete an assessment about their own depression and anxiety symptoms. The program recommends modules for the user based assessment results. The program contains a total of twelve modules that include education about mental health symptoms, homework assignments, and interactive activities based on evidence-based treatment approaches. Module topics include managing fear and anxiety, tackling unhelpful thinking patterns, and solving problems. Users choose three symptoms (e.g. worry, irritability, medication usage, motivation) to self-monitor. myCompass asks participants to report on these symptoms daily and provides tailored feedback.

Link to commercial site here.

Delivery:
Web-based
Mobile Application

Theoretical Approaches:
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Problem Solving Therapy
Positive Psychology
Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA)

Target Outcome(s):
Depression
Anxiety
Stress

Ages:
Young Adults (18-30)
Adults (30+)

Genders:
Male
Female

Races/Ethnicities:
Unspecified

Setting:
Remote Access

Geographic Location:
Unspecified

Country:
Australia

Language:
English

Evaluations

  • Impact of a mobile phone and web program on symptom and functional outcomes for people with mild-to-moderate depression, anxiety, and stress: A randomized controlled trial.

    Proudfoot J, Clarke J, Birch MR, Whitton AE, Manicavasagar V, Harrison V, Christensen H, Hadzi-Pavlovic D. BMC Psychiatry. 2013. 13: 312. PMCID: PMC4225666.

    Summary: This article describes a randomized controlled trial of the myCompass program. Australian adults with mild to moderate depression were recruited using advertisements on social media, the internet, radio, and print. Volunteers were excluded if they had current suicidal ideation or no internet access. Eligible participants (n=720) were randomized to myCompass, an attention control, or a waitlist control. myCompass participants had access to the program for seven weeks. Participants in the attention control were emailed weekly information on depression, anxiety, and stress, and received weekly informational text messages. Participants in the waitlist control group received no treatment for seven weeks, and then had access to myCompass for seven weeks. All participants completed assessments at baseline, post-intervention, and 12-week post intervention follow-up.

    Satisfaction with myCompass was high. Eighty-seven percent of participants receiving myCompass stated that they would use the program again. Overall, participants logged into myCompass an average of 14.7 times and completed symptom ecological momentary assessments an average of 49 times over the seven weeks. Self-monitoring was completed using the myCompass application on participants’ smartphones. After selecting which symptoms to self-monitor, the program sent participants reminders to complete the assessments in myCompass. At post-intervention, the myCompass group had greater improvement in depression, anxiety, work, and social functioning than the control groups. Improvements were sustained at the 12-week follow-up. The waitlist control group had similar improvements in depression and anxiety to the group initially receiving myCompass.

    Take Away: myCompass demonstrated short-term improvement for mild to moderate depression and anxiety among adults.

  • Related Articles

    Mobile mental health: Review of the emerging field and proof of concept study. Harrison V, Proudfoot J, Wee PP, Parker G, Pavlovic DH, Manicavasagar V. Journal of Mental Health. 2011. 20(6): 509-524. PMID: 21988230.