There was, there have been clinical trials. There was one called IPCRESS, which looked at the use of computerised behavioural therapy for the management of anxiety disorders. And it basically involved people sitting in front of a computer using an evidence-based computer programme, and receiving sort of so many sessions of structured help using a computer programme. And they were supported by an assistant psychologist through, through that process. And then of course you have another group who might just have some counselling, and seeing which gets the better outcome. Now the aim isn’t to replace - with horror I can see people thinking, “But, you know, we’ve got therapists out there. Why do we need computers?” Some people initially might be very reluctant to come forward, but they might be very happy to sit in front of a computer initially. And it’s a gentle introduction to some, a behavioural method that has been tried and tested. And I think it’s not just about the fact that it was rigorously tested by one university and various Royal Colleges, it was more about actually that it was for a certain group of people, because different treatments can suit different people. But it may not be the way the treatment is presented. I think that some people want treatment in primary care, some people do want to go and see the hospital specialist, and some people just want to sit in front of a computer if they’ve got busy lives. So this was quite innovative.

 

And the original work, there was an original package that was developed at the University of Leeds, and then further packages were developed in other academic settings. And I think this was quite remarkable. So what the trial looked at was how effective in early-onset anxiety disorders this treatment was. And what we now have of course is - and of course there were good outcomes, people, you know, a certain group of people were helped fundamentally and found that treatment really did help them, whereas other people needed to go onto more structured face one-to-one therapy. The benefits of that is that it’s very low cost, the licensing of the equipment, of the programme is, is inexpensive, whereas to employ one psychologist, one CBT therapist might be £30-40,000 a year - plus you’ve got the accommodation problems and fitting it into people’s lives, not taking time off work or whatever - is that you can have a programmer, a stand-alone machine, and that machine can be used all day, 24/7.

 

You know, or people can access the programme through their computer at home. And I think that there’s something quite innovative about that.