e-Mental Health platform offers free mental health resources

A new e-mental health platform created by the Centre of Biopsychosocial and eHealth Research and Innovation (CBeRI) at Federation University Australia offers an extensive range of free resources to assist the Australian community in enhancing their mental health and wellbeing.

The main site, the Federation eHealth Platform, provides information about mental health and ehealth, mental health symptom surveys with feedback, as well as a range of online self help programs and links to other services.

As part of the Platform, three new wellbeing programs have been launched.

The three programs are iChooseWell, iMindTime and THRIVE eHealth.

• iChooseWell is a strategy-based web and mobile wellness program. It contains 40 different strategies to choose from, including all the tools needed to put them into daily practise.
• iMindTime is a comprehensive but brief web and mobile mindfulness program. Mindfulness is a powerful technique that assists us to better live in the here and now. People will learn about mindfulness of breath, body sensations, emotions, thoughts, sounds and loving kindness meditation.
• THRIVE eHealth is a very brief web and mobile wellness ‘refresher’ program. It reminds people about the basics in relation to relaxation, sleep, nutrition, goal setting, life balance, and exercise.
• In addition, LIFE FLeX (a self-help web and mobile program for people with anxiety and depressive symptoms) was recently launched with large numbers already having signed up to the program.

Professor Britt Klein, the University’s Emeritus Professor Robert HT Smith Professor and Personal Chair in Psychology and eHealth and Director of CBeRI, said the new programs would benefit people wanting to improve their mental health and wellbeing.

“Keeping ourselves psychologically fit is just as vital as keeping ourselves physically fit, especially as the two go hand in hand,” Professor Klein said.

“The programs offered through the Federation eHealth Platform provide evidence-based information and a variety of tools to enhance mental health.”

“The Federation eHealth Platform and program sites are accessible via web, tablet, and mobile.

“We have designed the sites so that people can receive the depth of the information required, as well the convenience of being able to access and use the programs, its tools, and other resources while they are ‘on the go’ via their mobile.”

(Source: Federation University)