Reduced mental health, including stress, anxiety and depression, and functional difficulties such as fatigue and cognition issues, affect many people living with MS. However, access to effective psychological treatments is often challenging.   
This research aims to increase access to psychological care by developing, evaluating, and implementing psychological treatment programs for people with MS that can be delivered remotely. Several proof-of-concept clinical trials have shown encouraging results for this treatment approach.  
The project also aims to take this research to the next phase, exploring the effectiveness, acceptability, and safety of this treatment approach in the real world, including when delivered via a hospital-based MS clinic. This will address current knowledge gaps and allow the development of new and effective treatment approaches for Australians with MS needing psychological care.  
Dr Milena Gandy and her team continue to implement the internet-delivered psychological treatment program, the Wellbeing Neuro Course, for adults with MS living across Australia. Over the past two years, Dr Gandy and her team have managed to recruit 130 adults with MS into the trial, all who have now completed the 10-week course with optional support from a psychologist. They are continuing to collect data into 2024 and beyond to assess whether the benefits persist over time for this study.
Additionally, Dr Gandy and her team have commenced a clinical trial to implement the Wellbeing Neuro Course in-person at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. For this trial, the team will recruit participants from the hospital’s MS clinic to complete the course in-person with a Clinical Neuropsychologist. So far, nine participants have enrolled in this study and the team will continue their recruitment efforts throughout this year.
Dr Gandy has submitted several publications in relation to this work, three of which are now In Press.
Associate Professor Milena Gandy and her team finished implementing their internet-delivered psychological treatment program, the Wellbeing Neuro Course, for adults with MS living across Australia. Over the past two years, Associate Professor Gandy and her team recruited 133 adults with MS into the study, all of whom completed the 10-week course with optional support from a psychologist.
The team found that those who participated in the program experienced significant improvements in depression, anxiety, and day-to-day functioning compared to those who waited to take part. These improvements lasted for at least 12 months after treatment, demonstrating the program’s long-term benefits. Participants also reported feeling less irritable and experiencing fewer cognitive difficulties in daily life.
Additionally, Associate Professor Gandy and her team successfully delivered the Wellbeing Neuro Course in-person at the Royal North Shore Hospital in Sydney. For this trial, the team recruited 26 participants from the hospital’s MS clinic to complete the course in-person with a Clinical Neuropsychologist.
This trial showed similar positive results to the internet-delivered version, with improvements seen in symptoms of depression, anxiety and disability. Encouragingly, the Royal North Shore Hospital MS Clinic has continued using this course, highlighting that digital mental health support can work well in everyday clinic settings for people with MS.
Associate Professor Gandy has submitted several publications in relation to this work, six of which are now In Press.  
Updated 31 March 2025
$225,000
2022
3 years
Current project
