The ‘Take Courage' course [‘Met Lef'] demonstrates best clinical practice. In 2002 the course 'Take Courage! Self-confidence in contact with others' was set up by mental health organisations GGNet, de Gelderse Roos and Riagg Rijnmond. It is aimed at young adults from 18 years who experience anxiety and shyness in social situations. In 2007 the Trimbos Institute initiated a pilot study in order to test and improve the intervention. The course was subsequently modified and was offered by twelve mental health organisations. The result: a substantial reduction in anxiety symptoms among the participants.
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Webcast Anxiety Disorders. Over 800 people signed up to participate in the webcast - the first in the history of the Trimbos Institute! Almost 400 people actually followed the entire broadcast about the identification, diagnosing and treatment of people with an anxiety disorder. The webcast was made in collaboration with Benecke (medical education and publishing) and ZonMw (Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development). During the live broadcasts, a team of experts focussed on issues such as the importance of early identification using the Four Dimensional Symptom List, and proper diagnosis and treatment according to the stepped care method.
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Heleen Riper, lecturer and researcher with the Trimbos Institute is awarded her Ph.D at the VU University, Amsterdam. According to her doctoral research, the website MinderDrinken [Drinking Less] offers a clinical and cost-effective way to reduce problem alcohol use. By using the site, a large number of problem drinkers have succeeded - without therapeutic treatment - in cutting down on excessive alcohol consumption. According to Riper, a new large group of problem drinkers can be reached in this way. The threshold for regular treatment is too high for them, whereas internet therapy is much more accessible.
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