BRAVE-ONLINE is run by a team of researchers from the University of Queensland and Griffith University who are interested in investigating childhood and adolescent anxiety. Professor Sue Spence and colleagues from the Kids Coping Team at the School of Psychology have been working in the area of childhood anxiety for many years.
Click here to meet the BRAVE Team.
Anxiety is an important problem that many children and adolescents suffer from. Around 8-10% of children and adolescents are affected by anxiety. Anxiety can be extremely debilitating and cause significant impairments in a person's emotional, social and educational functioning. Children and adolescents with anxiety may worry about meeting new people, being away from home, doing presentations or they may fear specific situations or just seem to worry all the time.
Why are we interested in online treatments for anxiety?
It has now been well established that cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) is the treatment of choice for child and adolescent anxiety disorders. However, we also know that up to two thirds of children who experience anxiety, do not receive assistance for their difficulties. There are many children and families who can not attend therapy for many different reasons, and advances in computer technology have made it possible to use the Internet for psychological services. We are therefore interested in investigating whether we can deliver treatment programs for anxiety by using the Internet. As part of a research project, we have developed an internet-based treatment program for childhood and adolescent anxiety based on cognitive-behavioural principles
BRAVE-ONLINE is an internet-based, CBT program for childhood anxiety. The program involves child and parent sessions to be completed on a weekly basis. Children and parents complete sessions in their own home, and at their convenience. Sessions are designed to teach the skills needed to cope with fearful or worrying situations. Therapy techniques include; relaxation training, identification of emotions and thoughts, positive self-talk, coping skills, problem solving and approaching feared situations.
These methods have been demonstrated to be successful in treating child anxiety and reported in published studies. The child version of the program includes 10 sessions for children and 6 sessions for parents. Children and parents also complete booster sessions following the completion of treatment. Booster sessions are designed to revisit the skills learned throughout the program, and maintain positive changes achieved. For the teen program, there are a total of 13 sessions for teenagers and 7 sessions for parents.
Research involving BRAVE-ONLINE
The BRAVE Team are currently conducting two separate research studies for children aged between 7 and 12 and for teenagers aged between 13 and 17.
Child Study (Age 7-12)
As part of this study, we were interested in investigating whether BRAVE for Children-ONLINE was effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety compared to no therapy. Children aged between 7 and 12 years took part in the study. Some families received treatment straight away, and others received the online treatment 12 weeks later.
To examine the effects of treatment, children and parents completed a number of questionnaires as well as a diagnostic interview before and after treatment.
The results of this study showed that a large proportion of children had significantly improved by 6-month follow-up. In fact, 65% of children no longer experienced their primary anxiety disorder six months after the 10-week treatment period and many showed significant reductions in anxiety severity. We are currently collecting 12-month follow-up data, to determine whether improvements are maintained 1-year following the end of the program.
In addition, we received many positive reports from families completing the program such as:
Feedback from children |
Feedback from parents |
"I liked that basically no one knew about me doing it" |
"The format is really easy to understand" |
"The way it taught me the skills to overcome my fears" |
"User friendly!" |
"The bright colours, pictures and sounds" |
"It was good for my son to know that he wasn't the only child feeling anxious" |
"It was easy to understand" |
"Great practical solutions" |
"I liked the stories about other kids having a similar problem to me and solving them" |
"The simple way it could be accessed in our own time over the internet" |
"It helped me to get to sleep easier" |
"The program gave me lots of strategies to help my daughter!" |
"We liked that we could do it togeher and that the material is always there" |
Youth (Age 13-17)
We are also interested in investigating ways in which we can make treatment programs more effective for teenagers and their parents. We are currently in the final stages of a second research project investigating BRAVE for Teenagers-ONLINE. One hundred and seventy families participated in this study. Some families received BRAVE-ONLINE or a clinic-based version of the program straight away, and others received BRAVE-ONLINE after 12 weeks. Both treatments are based on cognitive-behavioural therapy and involve 13 sessions for teenagers and 7 sessions for parents.
Teenagers and parents completed questionnaires and interviews both before and after treatment to determine whether the treatment was effective in reducing anxiety symptoms. The data is currently being collected and results should be available soon
For further information about research relating to the program, please see the following publications:
March, S., Spence, S. H., & Donovan, C. L. (2008). The Efficacy of an Internet-Based Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Intervention for Child Anxiety Disorders. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, E-Publication ahead of print, September 15, 2008.
Spence, S. H., Donovan, C. L., March, S., Gamble, A., Anderson, R., Prosser, S., et al. (2008). Online CBT in the Treatment of Child and Adolescent Anxiety Disorders: Issues in the Development of BRAVE-ONLINE and Two Case Illustrations. Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapy, 36(4), 411-430 .
Spence, S. H., Holmes, J. M., March, S., & Lipp, O. V. (2006). The Feasibility and Outcome of Clinic Plus Internet Delivery of Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Childhood Anxiety. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 74(3), 614-621.
Cunningham, M., Donovan, C. L., & March, S. (2007). Developing and Delivering Computer-Based CBT for Anxiety Disorders in Young People. In D. Einstein (Ed.), Innovations and Advances in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. Sydney: Australian Academic Press.
Who can take part in BRAVE-ONLINE?
Both research projects are in the final stages and we are not taking any more participants at this time. We expect that we will open enrolments again in the future, and recommend that you check this website for updates.
How do I find out more about the program?
If you are interested in finding out more about this program, you can contact the BRAVE Team on the email addresses below.
For the child program (age 8-12), email: brave@psy.uq.edu.au
For the youth program (age 13-17), email: brave4teenagers@psy.uq.edu.au
BRAVE Team (a part of the Kids Coping Team)
Child Program
Email: brave@psy.uq.edu.au
Youth Program