Male Post-Natal
Depression is a Real & Significant Issue in UK
Ieso
Digital Health Study Shows Stigma Still a Major Barrier to Men Seeking Help
· Quarter of all dads at risk of paternal post-natal
depression
· 57% say there is a stigma around male
post-natal depression
· 65% of dads say it’s difficult to admit emotional
health problems associated with parenting
Male post-natal
depression PND is a real and significant public health issue, according
to Ieso Digital Health, the UK’s leading provider of online cognitive behavioural
therapy.
To coincide with Pre and Postnatal Depression
Awareness Week, which runs from 4th to 10th Sep
2017, Ieso has released the finding of
an important new independent study of 2000 UK parents. The study shows that
awareness and stigma are both major barriers to fathers seeking mental health
support.
The postpartum
period is associated with many different adjustments that can pose risks of
depression for dads. Paternal
post-natal depression (PPND) can be as devastating as that suffered by
women. Estimates of the prevalence of PPND in the first
two months postpartum vary from 4 percent to
as high as 25 percent[1]. The incidence rises
to 50% for fathers whose partner suffers from PND.[2] Symptoms of
PPND include a sense of inadequacy or inability to cope,
difficulty bonding with the baby, chronic fatigue, panicked thoughts, a lack of
interest or motivation, and problems concentrating and making decisions.
According to
Sarah Bateup, Chief Clinical Officer at Ieso Digital Health:
“Postnatal
depression (PND) is a form of depression that is more likely to affect dads
(and mums) in the first year of their baby's life. It can happen gradually or
all of a sudden, and can range from being relatively mild to very hard hitting.
With normal stresses associated with
having a baby, a father is going to feel better when he gets some extra sleep,
does a workout, or has lunch with a friend. But with post-natal depression,
these things won't make him feel better. He might withdraw by working more, or by drinking more heavily to
avoid what's going on at home.
“Our
study shows the majority (65%) of dads still feel uncomfortable about opening
up about their emotional health due to stigma and prejudice. Therefore
it’s really important that new
parents, their friends and families are aware that PND exists and happens to
men with no previous mental health problems too and also to be able to
recognise the differences between ‘normal’ stress and symptoms of PPND.
It a dad is struggling they need to get help and support, as evidence shows
the quicker they get help, the quicker the recovery.”
Ieso’s unique, breakthrough technology,
is transforming mental health delivery in the UK, by providing
one-to-one, evidence-based and clinically validated CBT for patients with
anxiety and depression, including post-natal depression. Therapy can be
accessed at a time and location convenient for the patient and is delivered
through typed conversation by Ieso’s network of 500+ accredited therapists.
Ieso’s method of online therapy has been clinically validated in a
clinical trial published in Lancet in 2009.
Speaking about Ieso Digital Health is
helping to break down the stigma associated with mental health problems, Sarah
Bateup added:
“Ieso offers discreet one-to-one
therapy, delivered in real time using written (typed) conversation, in a secure
virtual therapy room. Dads don’t have to go to a therapist’s
office and they can also choose the time and location
from where they access therapy. 64% of our therapy
appointments happen outside office hours, which can accommodate dads who are
working. They won’t experience a long
waiting list either as patients are seen within 48 hours. They can
also message between sessions and re-read the therapy correspondence, keeping
it fresh in their mind.”
About
Ieso Digital Health
Ieso Digital Health’s unique,
breakthrough technology, is transforming mental health delivery in the UK,
by providing one-to-one, evidence-based and clinically validated CBT for
patients with anxiety and depression. Therapy can be accessed at a time
and location convenient for the patient and is delivered through typed
conversation by accredited therapists.
Innovation is at the heart of Ieso’s patient-centred approach. Ieso is continuously improving, applying AI and machine learning to enhance its therapy, ensuring best in class for patients and
therapists. Ieso’s technology and innovation combines evidence-based
cognitive behavioural therapy, dynamic AI learning and mobile accessibility
to facilitate access to the most advanced CBT therapy. Ieso is now the
UK’s largest provider of online CBT and recently launched in US.
About Sarah Bateup, Chief Clinical Officer, Ieso
Digital Health
· Chief Clinical Officer (CCO), responsible for
directing Ieso’s clinical strategy and operations in both the UK and US.
Sarah is a highly accomplished CBT expert with
vast experience in service excellence, quality management, patient care as well
as overseeing and managing Ieso’s network of 500+ licensed therapists, the
largest in Europe.
· As a British Association of Behavioural and Cognitive
Psychotherapy (BABCP) CBT therapist Sarah Bateup has delivered 27,000 hours of
cognitive behavioural therapy over the last 28 years.
· Sarah joined Ieso in 2011, being appointed as the
company’s Clinical Lead responsible for Ieso’s therapist network who deliver
cognitive behavioural therapy online. Ieso therapists treat psychological
disorders including anxiety, depression, phobias, obsessive-compulsive
disorder, panic, post-traumatic stress disorder and eating disorders.
· She has recently launched a randomised controlled
trial working with patients referred by their GP, and building on an earlier study
published in The Lancet which demonstrated that Ieso’s method of providing
therapy via written conversation is effective. Clinical recovery rates are just
as good as face-to-face therapy services, the study found, but fewer sessions
are needed to reach recovery.
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