Blues Begone® is the culmination of 6 years of work to create a clinically effective computer based method of delivering Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), on a home or work computer.

Blues Begone® performs an initial personal assessment and then compiles itself to reflect the needs of the individual user, with re-assessment every 5 episodes. Every single Blues Begone® Program is different, because it is personalized in numerous ways offering between 15 to 40 hours of interactive psychotherapy using the CBT approach. Blues Begone® includes more than 20 core CBT tasks. It delivers 30 individual episodes that are designed to be used over approximately 6-8 weeks. This gives a structured experience that builds upon what went before such that as understanding increases, the program moves deeper into the process of symptom reduction and life management in a very thorough way.

Blues Begone® can be used at home or on a work-based computer therefore, can be completely confidential, a facet highly valued by users. Blues Begone® provides a comprehensive self help resource that includes more than 90,000 words, it calls the user by name and talks to the user in an interactive manner that both reflects what they have done, via feedback, and also introduces new tasks and assignments. Blues Begone® includes over 140 animated talking heads and conversations that illustrate important aspects of the program while also creating unique homework assignments that are designed to provide in-vivo exposure to personally relevant treatment elements. Blues Begone® contains hundreds of cartoons that reinforce key ideas with animations to make special points. A comprehensive case series runs throughout the program illustrating the path of personal
change and making treatment specific and personal; a process that helps engage the user and maintain their commitment.

The clinical outcome data from Blues Begone® demonstrate that it is clinically effective in treating both depression and anxiety. Blues Begone® is so easy to use that it does not require any special computer experience, nor any ongoing mental health practitioner input. Blues Begone® runs as a completely stand alone intervention. There are no known side effects.

Our website at www.bluesbegone.co.uk has real comments from users suffering depression or anxiety who were interviewed after using Blues Begone® (as part of our program development). Blues Begone® requires Windows XP operating system, about 650 MB of free hard disk space and sound.

Dr. David Purves AFBPsS, CSsi.C.Psychol