A qualitative study of sexual minority young people's experiences of computerised therapy for depression

To describe the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual or sexual minority youth who used a form of computerised therapy (Rainbow SPARX) for depression.

25 adolescents (20 with significant depressive symptoms) who had trialled Rainbow SPARX took part in semi-structured interviews. The general inductive approach was used to analyse interview data.

Feedback consisted of five main themes: 'appealing aspects'; 'applying it to real life'; 'things to improve'; 'aspects that did not appeal'; and 'other themes'. Young people suggested that there should be more sexuality-specific ('rainbow') content in the computer program. Seventeen participants thought computerised therapy helped them feel better or less depressed.

Consumer perspectives are increasingly being sought and this user input is especially useful for improving services. Our study provides important in-depth feedback on Rainbow SPARX from the perspective of sexual minority youth, and it highlights that computerised therapies can be successfully modified for groups traditionally under-served by mainstream mental health interventions.