New
Study Shows that Depression & Anxiety Going Untreated in Chronically Ill
Patients.
For millions of people in the UK,
chronic illnesses and depression are facts of life. As
World Mental Health Day approaches, Ieso Digital Health, the UK’s leading
provider of online evidence-based cognitive behavioural therapy CBT puts the
spotlight on depression and anxiety amongst people already coping with a
chronic illness. Ieso presents the findings of a new, independent survey of
1,500 individuals managing some form of long term illness. This study’s main
findings show that:
· 86%
of people living with a chronic illness have experienced depression and/or
anxiety.
· Just
over half have had access or have undertaken therapy (52.4%).
· Almost
7 out of 10 (66.5%) said their chronic illness prevented them from getting out
and about.
· 55+
year old sufferers most likely to suffer in silence (81%).
Online
Therapy Offers Fast & Accessible Treatment for Individuals Living with a
Long Term Illness and also Suffering with Depression or Anxiety.
Sarah Bateup, Chief Clinical Officer at
Ieso Digital Health says:
“The risk of clinical depression is
often higher in individuals with serious long term medical illnesses, such as
heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.
Recognition and treatment of anxiety or depression is crucial as
depression worsens the course of a chronic illness. Symptoms of
depression are frequently masked by these other physical illnesses, resulting
in treatment that addresses the medical symptoms but not the underlying depression
or anxiety.
Online therapy such as Ieso is ideal for those
individuals who who find that,
pain, fatigue and other debilitating symptoms make it difficult to get out of
the house, who are immobile, or people who simply prefer to access therapy in the
privacy of their own home. Online therapy is also eliminating long waiting
lists as therapy can be accessed within 48 hours.”
Why online therapy
such as Ieso offers Hope for People with a Chronic Illness:
Access to therapy is very
often out of reach for people living with a long term illness, due to mobility
issues, travelling distance, waiting lists, accessibility restrictions or
simply just a lack of awareness that they have can get therapy online.
What is a Chronic
Illness?
Any health problem requiring ongoing
management over a period of years or decades and one that cannot currently be
cured but can be controlled with the use of medication and/or other therapies
(NHS).
Case Study
Name:
John Riley
Condition:
Depression associated with
Chronic Illness
John Riley, aged
58 from Hornsea, East Yorkshire is married with three children. John
spent much of his career working in a Local Authority housing management until
he suffered a nervous breakdown in 1993. Six years later, in 1999
John was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. John also suffers from fibromyalgia a
medical condition characterised by chronic, widespread pain and heightened pain
response to pressure. John has experienced constant depression and
anxiety as a result of being chronically ill. He found Ieso online
therapy has helped him cope with his depression and long term health
conditions. John’s daily routine involves taking a variety of different
medications including morphine and muscle relaxants to help his Fibromyalgia
and other tablets to help control his diabetes. John has also suffered
for nine years with an unknown and undiagnosed muscle disease.
“I am on long term sick leave now and in pain all
the time, but I take my medication daily and carry on as best I can at my own
speed” says John. John’s
breakdown in 1993 was the first time that John experienced depression and
anxiety.
“At the time I was working in local housing as an
enquiry officer. We were a small team, dealing with over 100 applications
for housing with little or no space on our waiting lists. I
think the break point for me came when we could not find housing for a family
on Christmas Eve and another woman who had been the subject of domestic
violence. It was all just too much.” John describes
his lowest point as “coming home from work and collapsing in a heap, in
tears, beside his hoover because I could not remember how to work it. A
friend called in and as John recounts now, said “you are supposed to plug
it in!”
John knew that he desperately needed help “When
the depression related to my chronic illness came back again this year. I
just wanted to be able to talk to someone who was non-judgemental. I knew
I was becoming very depressed again.” Then a leaflet came in
the door about Ieso therapy which was available through NHS. I
was amazed at how quickly I got my first appointment. I had ten sessions
with a kind and caring female counsellor. We were one-to-one in our own
virtual clinic.”
John says the key to making cognitive behavioural
therapy work is that “I could say absolutely anything I needed to say my
therapist. She helped me to look at things in a different way. The
best part was that I was able to get help immediately, I was not just put on a
long waiting list. The tools the therapist gave me have really helped me
to cope and the best thing is I can still access my account and reread the text
transcripts about all the things we spoke about. I would really recommend
the Ieso digital health service to others suffering depression with a chronic
illness as it’s very accessible too and you don’t have to leave your home to go
to a clinic.” added John.
About
Ieso Digital Health
· Ieso Digital Health
provides online (written text) enhanced CBT via the NHS IAPT (Improving Access
to psychological Therapies) scheme. Founded by psychologists, and harnessing a
pioneering intelligent technology platform, the company’s mission is to provide
accessible, affordable, convenient and accountable CBT.
· Ieso’s leading edge
technology platform and evidence-based clinical programs enable more cost
effective and productive solutions for health care providers and other
companies. Ieso offers secure, one-to-one, real-time cognitive behavioural
therapy (CBT) programmes delivered by accredited therapists, who are trained,
monitored and supervised to adhere to the clinical protocols developed by the
company’s world-class clinical team.
· CBT such
as Ieso is the gold standard, NICE approved treatment protocol for anxiety
& depression. Ieso’s online modality has also been clinically validated
(cf The Lancet, 2009).
· Ieso’s revolutionary
technology platform continuously improves by applying artificial intelligence
and machine learning to constantly enhance its digital and therapist support.
The personalised care can be offered at scale, is cost effective, and removes
significant barriers such as stigma and accessibility that can prevent
treatment.
· Headquartered in the
U.K., Ieso Digital Health is the leading provider of CBT in the UK and is now
available to U.S.-based providers and patients. For more information, visitwww.iesohealth.com
About
Sarah Bateup
· Sarah is a BABCP
(British Association of Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapists)
accredited cognitive behavioural therapist and supervisor and has delivered
over 25,000 hours of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to people across the
UK.
· Having worked for
many years within the UK National Health Service (NHS) managing talking
therapies services, she is responsible for all clinical management at Ieso
Digital Health, including therapist supervision and quality monitoring. Sarah
also provides clinical training at a number of leading universities.
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