Jill M Newby

• PhD
• UNSW Sydney

Background Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT) is a key transdiagnostic mechanism underlying anxiety and depressive disorders, and targeting RNT specifically leads to improved treatment outcomes. There is a lack of research however into mechanisms of change in RNT-focused interventions and factors that predict treatment response. The aim of this stu...

Purpose of Review Many patients with chronic health conditions experience anxiety, which can have significant implications on physical health outcomes and quality of life. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to examine the prevalence of anxiety in gastroenterology and hepatology outpatients, across factors such as physical health conditi...

Objective This paper reviews the literature evaluating psychological treatments to improve sleep quality in young adult university students. Method Participants (N = 6179) were young adult (aged 18–30 years) university students. Databases (PubMed, PsychInfo, EMBASE and Medline) were searched for randomized controlled trials evaluating psychologica...

Abstract Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT) during pregnancy is a key risk factor for psychopathology in the perinatal period. However, the cognitive mechanisms underlying prenatal RNT remain poorly understood. Recent research has suggested that a tendency to volitionally seek negative rather than positive information (i.e., biased information seek...

Background: Digital phenotyping, the process of using digital data to measure and understand behaviour and internal states, shows promise for predictive analytics in mental health when combined with other forms of data. However, linking digital phenotyping data to other datasets, particularly those that involve highly sensitive clinical and genetic...

Objectives A major characteristic of health anxiety is the tendency to attribute benign bodily sensations to serious illnesses. This has been supported by empirical research in non-clinical samples, and samples of individuals diagnosed with Hypochondriasis. However, no study to date has explored symptom attribution styles of individuals with the DS...

The current study examined the association between elevated prenatal worry and negative expectancies about parenthood and the potential cognitive mechanisms driving such expectancies. Two main hypotheses were examined: First, that negative expectancies about parenthood contribute to elevated prenatal worry, and second, negative selective interrogat...

Objectives Intrusive thoughts and images in Health Anxiety are poorly understood. The current study aims to explore the rates and nature of health‐related intrusive thoughts and images in people with and without Health Anxiety. Design We used a cross‐sectional interview and survey design recruiting 82 participants (Health Anxiety: n = 37; control:...

Background Perinatal anxiety is common: up to 40% of pregnant women and new mothers experience high levels of anxiety. Given its prevalence, interventions that are low-intensity, highly accessible and cost-efficient, and target modifiable risk factors for anxiety are needed. Repetitive negative thinking (RNT)—such as worrying about ways things will...

Introduction University students are particularly susceptible to developing high levels of stress, which occur when environmental demands outweigh an individual’s ability to cope. The growing advent of mental health smartphone apps has led to a surge in use by university students seeking ways to help them cope with stress. Use of these apps has aff...

Introduction: Sleep difficulties are common amongst university students and are associated with mental illness and reduced wellbeing. This paper reports a pilot study of Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) tailored specifically for university students. It was hypothesized that the intervention would be feasible, acceptable, and improve...

Digital phenotyping is a promising method for advancing scalable detection and prediction methods in mental health research and practice. However, little is known about how digital phenotyping data are used to make inferences about youth mental health. We conducted a scoping review of 35 studies to better understand how passive sensing (e.g., Globa...

Background DSM-5 introduced illness anxiety disorder and somatic symptom disorder, which commonly fall under the term health anxiety (HA). HA is clinically significant worry about health. The prevalence of HA is higher in general hospital (medical) clinics than in the community. Firstly, there are limited studies on the proactive identification (sc...

Purpose of Review We review recent evidence on Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD), including risk factors and precipitants, diagnostic classification, clinical characteristics of the disorder, and assessment and treatment in both children and adults. Recent Findings IAD places a substantial burden on both individuals and society. Despite its impact, u...

BACKGROUND With increasing adoption of remote clinical trials in digital mental health, identifying recruitment methodologies that are both cost-effective and time-efficient is crucial for the success of such trials. Past research suggests that overall, there is no consistent evidence on whether web-based recruitment methods are more effective than...

Background With increasing adoption of remote clinical trials in digital mental health, identifying cost-effective and time-efficient recruitment methodologies is crucial for the success of such trials. Evidence on whether web-based recruitment methods are more effective than traditional methods such as newspapers, media, or flyers is inconsistent....

Objectives Psychological distress is common among university students globally. A culturally relevant internet-based mindfulness intervention could be a potential solution for addressing students’ distress in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Indonesia. However, internet-based mindfulness interventions are new in Indonesia. In thi...

Secondary school educators are well placed to recognize and respond to mental illness in adolescents; however, many report low confidence and skills in doing so. A confirmatory cluster randomized controlled trial involving 295 educators (Mean age: 40.10 years, SD: 10.47; 76.6% female, 2.7% Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander) from 73 Australian se...

The current study explored the association between elevated prenatal worry and negative expectancies about parenthood and the potential cognitive mechanisms driving such expectancies. Two main hypotheses were examined: First, that negative expectancies about parenthood contribute to elevated prenatal worry, and second, negative selective interrogat...

Background Advances in smartphone technology have allowed people to access mental healthcare via digital apps from wherever and whenever they choose. University students experience a high burden of mental health concerns. Although these apps improve mental health symptoms, user engagement has remained low. Studies have shown that users can be subgr...

Background: Psychological distress is prevalent among university students. However, the availability of evidence-based mental health treatment remains limited in many low- and middle-income countries, including Indonesia. Internet-delivered, mindfulness-based interventions that reduce distress have potential for treating university student distress...

University students are particularly susceptible to developing high levels of stress, which occur when environmental demands outweigh an individual's ability to cope. The growing advent of mental health smartphone apps has led to a surge in use by university students seeking ways to help them cope with stress. Use of these apps has afforded researc...

Background: Rumination and worry, forms of repetitive negative thinking (RNT), are implicated in the onset, maintenance, severity, and relapse risk of depression and anxiety disorders. This randomised controlled trial evaluated an internet intervention targeting both rumination and worry in adults compared to treatment-as-usual (TAU) and compared...

Anxiety and anxiety disorders are associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes, and reduced quality of life. Despite this, no comprehensive study on the global prevalence of anxiety symptoms and disorders among adult cardiology outpatients exists. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to provide cardiologists with a precise estimate of t...

Introduction Meta-analytical evidence confirms a range of interventions, including mindfulness, physical activity and sleep hygiene, can reduce psychological distress in university students. However, it is unclear which intervention is most effective. Artificial intelligence (AI)-driven adaptive trials may be an efficient method to determine what w...

Background Rates of depression are increasing among adolescents. A novel way to reduce depression is by improving sleep. We evaluated whether an app‐based intervention for insomnia improved sleep and depression, and whether changes in insomnia mediated changes in depression. Methods We conducted a 2‐arm single‐blind randomised controlled trial at...

BACKGROUND Psychological distress (depression, anxiety, and stress) is prevalent among university students. However, the availability of evidence-based mental health treatment remains limited in many low-middle income countries (LMICs), including Indonesia. Internet-delivered mindfulness-based interventions that reduce distress have potential for t...

Unlabelled: This paper outlines a systematic review and meta-analyses to identify, describe, and evaluate randomised and non-randomised controlled trials of psychological programs targeting the mental health, professional burnout, and/or wellbeing of school classroom teachers. Eighty-eight unique studies were identified for inclusion in the review...

Advances in smartphone technology have allowed people to access mental healthcare via digital apps from wherever and whenever they choose. University students experience a high burden of mental health concerns. Although these apps improve mental health symptoms, user engagement has remained low. Studies have shown that users can be subgrouped based...

Introduction: Meta-analytic evidence confirms a range of in- terventions, including mindfulness, physical activity and sleep hygiene, can reduce psychological distress in university stu- dents. However, it is unclear which intervention is most ef- fective. Artificial intelligence (AI) driven adaptive trials may be an efficient method to determine w...

Background Many university students have difficulties with sleep; therefore, effective psychological treatments are needed. Most research on psychological treatments to improve sleep has been conducted with middle-aged and older adults, which means it is unclear whether existing psychological treatments are helpful for young adult university studen...

This paper outlines a systematic review and meta-analyses to identify, describe, and evaluate randomised and non-randomised controlled trials of psychological programs targeting the mental health, professional burnout, and/or wellbeing of school classroom teachers. Eighty-eight unique studies were identified for inclusion in the review, and of thos...

Psychological distress is a common mental health problem among university students, including students from Low and Middle-income countries (LMICs), such as Indonesia. Mindfulness interventions that can reduce psychological distress have been growing in popularity and are being increasingly delivered through the Internet. The present study examined...

There has been significant disruption to the lives and mental health of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological and lifestyle impact of the pandemic on Australian adolescents, using an online survey, administered during the outbreak. Self-report surveys were administered online to a sample...

Study Objectives Insomnia and anxiety are highly prevalent and frequently co-occur. Given limited therapeutic resources and time constraints, the aim of this study was to compare which treatment – internet CBT for insomnia or internet CBT for anxiety – leads to the best outcomes in individuals with comorbid insomnia and anxiety. Methods 120 partic...

Background Despite its potential scalability, little is known about the outcomes of internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (iCBT) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) when it is provided with minimal guidance from a clinician. Aim To evaluate the outcomes of minimally guided iCBT for PTSD in a randomised control trial (RCT, Study 1) and i...

Objectives Transdiagnostic internet cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) improves depression and anxiety symptoms, but the factors mediating these improvements are unknown. Design In a secondary analysis of a randomised controlled trial, we compared the impact of a transdiagnostic iCBT program (n = 39) on emotion regulation, repetitive negative th...

Background Rumination and worry represent two types of repetitive negative thinking (RNT), and their predictive and maintaining roles are well-established in depression and anxiety, respectively. Furthermore, there is an emerging literature on the link between RNT and psychological wellbeing in the perinatal period. Methods We conducted a scoping...

Objectives Rumination and worry have been implicated in the onset, severity, maintenance and relapse risk of depression and anxiety disorders. Despite this, little research has examined individuals' personal experiences of these processes. This study investigates how individuals experience these processes, which will provide insight into these comm...

Objective To examine and describe telehealth use and attitudes among mental health professionals in Australia and New Zealand during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Participants completed a brief online survey between May and July 2020. Participants were recruited via peak and professional organisations and through psychology-...

Objectives The COVID-19 pandemic has had negative mental health impacts. Online psychological interventions can facilitate rapid access to mental health resources. This study examined the outcomes of a 4-lesson, self-help online mindfulness course during the early months of the pandemic in Australia. Methods 5058 adults commenced the Introduction...

This paper outlines a systematic review and meta-analyses to identify, describe, and evaluate randomised and non-randomised controlled trials of psychological programs targeting the mental health, professional burnout, or wellbeing of school classroom teachers. Eighty-two unique studies were identified for inclusion in the review, and of those 39 w...

Background Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are the leading cause of death globally. Promoting physical activity and healthy eating is essential to help manage the NCD burden and reduce mortality. Social media may be a potential platform for delivering and scaling health promotion initiatives. In this systematic review, we aimed to examine i) the fe...

Background Since the COVID-19 outbreak, few studies have investigated the positive psychological consequences on young people. This study examined resilience, positive experiences, and coping strategies reported by Australian adolescents during COVID-19. Methods Self-report surveys were administered online to a sample of 760 Australian adolescents...

Background: Internet cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) for health anxiety hasdemonstrated efficacy but has not been evaluated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thisstudy presents the first evaluation of the uptake and outcomes of iCBT for health anxietyduring the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: THIS WAY UP is an Australian digital mental health service w...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has placed healthcare workers (HCWs) under severe stress, compounded by barriers to seeking mental health support among HCWs. The Essential Network (TEN) is a blend of digital and person-to-person (blended care) mental health support services for HCWs, funded by the Australian Federal Department of Health as part...

Background Internet cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) for health anxiety has demonstrated efficacy but has not been evaluated during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study presents the first evaluation of the uptake and outcomes of iCBT for health anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods THIS WAY UP is an Australian digital mental health servic...

Accessible, affordable cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) options for Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) that allow for rapid symptom improvement are needed. The present study investigated the first intensive, 7-day internet-based CBT for SAD. An open pilot trial was conducted to test the acceptability, feasibility and preliminary outcomes of the progr...

Background: Since the COVID-19 outbreak, few studies have investigated the positive psychological consequences on young people. This study examined resilience, positive experiences, and coping strategies reported by Australian adolescents during COVID-19. Methods: Self-report surveys were administered online to a sample of 760 Australian adolescent...

Depression and anxiety are often first experienced during childhood and adolescence, and interest in the prevention of these disorders is growing. The focus of this review was to assess the effectiveness of psychological prevention programs delivered in schools, and to provide an update to our previous review from five years ago (Werner-Seidler, Pe...

Background Despite the well-established role of repetitive negative thinking (RNT) in the prediction and maintenance of depression and anxiety, only minimal research to date has investigated RNT in the context of postnatal psychological adjustment. Objective We examined the relationships between RNT, associated maladaptive cognitive processes, inf...

Background Rumination and worry, both forms of repetitive negative thinking (RNT), have been implicated in the onset, maintenance, severity, and relapse risk of depression and anxiety disorders. Despite promising initial findings for internet-delivered interventions targeting both rumination and worry simultaneously, no studies have investigated tr...

Background Recent evidence suggests that anxiety is more common than depression in the perinatal period, however there are few interventions available to treat perinatal anxiety. Targeting specific processes that maintain anxiety, such as worry, may be one potentially promising way to reduce anxiety in this period. Given evidence that negative inte...

Background: Internet-based treatment programs present a solution for providing access to pain management for those unable to access clinic-based multidisciplinary pain programs. Attrition from internet interventions is a common issue. Clinician-supported guidance can be an important feature in web-based interventions; however, the optimal level of...

Background The mental health impacts of COVID-19 have been considerable with many individuals experiencing significant anxiety and depression. Online cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) programs provide scalable access to psychological interventions, however the effectiveness of these programs during the pandemic has not been investigated. This st...

Background Internet cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) is a viable delivery format of CBT for depression. However, iCBT programmes include training in a wide array of cognitive and behavioural skills via different delivery methods, and it remains unclear which of these components are more efficacious and for whom. Methods We did a systematic revi...

Background: Breast Implant Illness (BII) is a term used to describe physical and psychological symptoms experienced by some women following breast implant surgery. Few studies have examined the experiences of women with BII - a poorly understood condition with no clear cause or treatment. Objectives: To explore women's experiences of BII, includ...

Objective Chronic pain is a prevalent and disabling condition. Reboot Online was developed as a multidisciplinary and widely accessible online treatment program for chronic pain. It has been shown to be effective in clinical trials, but the effectiveness of this program in routine care settings remains unknown. This study aimed to examine program a...

Background First responders (eg, police, firefighters, and paramedics) are at high risk of experiencing poor mental health. Physical activity interventions can help reduce symptoms and improve mental health in this group. More research is needed to evaluate accessible, low-cost methods of delivering programs. Social media may be a potential platfor...

Objective: The ten-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) was designed as a screening tool to identify mental illness in epidemiological surveys. In recent years, it has also been employed in treatment studies and clinical settings to measure changes in psychological distress. However, no study to date has validated this extended use of th...

Little is known about the prevalence and impact on treatment of comorbid personality disorders for adults undertaking online cognitive behaviour therapy (internet-delivered or internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (iCBT)) for anxiety and depressive disorders. This study explored how common comorbid personality difficulties were in a large samp...

Aim To compare the efficacy and acceptability of internet-delivered exposure therapy for panic disorder, to multi-component internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) that included controlled breathing, cognitive restructuring and exposure. Methods Participants with panic disorder, with or without agoraphobia, were randomized to intern...

Repetitive thinking (RT) predicts and maintains depression and anxiety, yet the role of RT in the perinatal context has been under-researched. Further, the content and themes that emerge during RT in the perinatal period have been minimally investigated. We recruited an online community sample of women who had their first baby within the past 12 mo...

Importance Personalized treatment choices would increase the effectiveness of internet-based cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) for depression to the extent that patients differ in interventions that better suit them. Objective To provide personalized estimates of short-term and long-term relative efficacy of guided and unguided iCBT for depressi...

Introduction Breast implant surgery is the most common plastic surgery procedure performed globally. A subset of women with breast implants report experiencing a myriad of disabling and distressing physical and psychological symptoms attributed to their implants. Social media groups have coined the condition ‘Breast Implant Illness’ (BII). Little t...

Objective Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological injuries are debilitating health problems facing police officers. There is increasing interest in the role of exercise as an intervention. We aimed to determine the preliminary effectiveness of the RECONNECT exercise program for NSW Police Officers experiencing PTSD or psychological i...

Objective Cognitive‐behavioural models suggest that vicarious illness experiences precipitate health anxiety; however, this assumption is largely untested. This study aimed to (a) compare the severity of health anxiety and rates of clinical health anxiety, Illness Anxiety Disorder (IAD), and Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) in participants with and w...

A growing evidence base supports the efficacy of Internet-based cognitive behaviour therapy (iCBT) for obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). However, very few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of iCBT for OCD in routine care settings which service the bulk of a population’s health needs. This study evaluated the treatment outcomes of 309 adul...

This is the first pilot study to explore the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of intensive cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for panic disorder and/or agoraphobia delivered via the internet. Ten participants who met DSM-5 criteria for panic disorder and/or agoraphobia (6 males; mean age = 43.40, SD = 15.25) completed The Intensi...

Aim: To examine the efficacy of transdiagnostic internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT), mindfulness-enhanced iCBT, and stand-alone online mindfulness training compared with a usual care control group (TAU) for clinical anxiety and depression. Method: Individuals (N = 158) with a DSM-5 diagnosis of a depressive and/or anxiety dis...

Perinatal anxiety and depression are common and associated with negative outcomes if left untreated. Internet-delivered treatments can improve treatment accessibility and have demonstrated effectiveness in treating anxiety and depression in the general adult population. However, little is known about how effective and acceptable these interventions...

Introduction: Randomised controlled trials have shown that internet-delivered cognitive behavioural treatment (iCBT) is an effective treatment for health anxiety, but the effectiveness of these programs in routine care has not been investigated. This study examined the effectiveness of iCBT for health anxiety symptoms in routine care settings in t...

Objective: Chronic pain is a prevalent and burdensome condition. Reboot Online was developed to address treatment barriers traditionally associated with accessing face-to-face chronic pain management programs. It is a comprehensive multidisciplinary online treatment program, based on an existing and effective face-to-face multidisciplinary pain pr...

Background First responders (police, fire and ambulance officers) are at a significantly increased risk of experiencing poor mental health, including depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. These conditions are associated with high rates of cardiovascular disease, in part due to low levels of physical activity (PA) and high levels of sedenta...

The current systematic review and meta-analysis examined the efficacy and effectiveness of internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (iCBT) on panic disorder and agoraphobia symptom severity. Twenty-seven studies were identified. Results from nine randomised controlled trials (RCTs) showed that iCBT outperformed waiting list and information c...

In mentally healthy individuals, autobiographical memory is typically biased toward positive events, which may help to maintain psychological well-being. Our aim was to assess a range of important positive memory biases in the mentally healthy and explore the possibility that these biases are mitigated in those with mental health problems. We admin...

Objectives Chronic pain causes significant disability and psychological distress, but barriers often prevent people with pain from engaging in traditional face-to-face pain management programs. Accessible, feasible, and effective alternative treatment options are needed. Methods A prospective, feasibility pilot study was conducted to trial a novel...

Background: Anxiety and depression are common during pregnancy and associated with adverse outcomes for the mother and infant if left untreated. Despite the need to improve treatment accessibility and uptake in this population, no studies have investigated internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapy (iCBT) for antenatal anxiety and depression...

Introduction: Anxiety, mood and trauma-related disorders are common, affecting up to 20% of adults. Many of these individuals will experience symptoms of more than one disorder as diagnostically defined. However, most psychological treatments focus on individual disorders and are less effective for those who experience comorbid disorders. The HARMO...

Transdiagnostic internet-delivered cognitive behavioural therapies (iCBT) are effective for treating anxiety and depression, but there is room for improvement. In this study we developed a new Mindfulness-Enhanced iCBT intervention by incorporating formal and informal mindfulness exercises within an existing transdiagnostic iCBT program for mixed d...

Cognitive theories of generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) posit that cognitive and behavioural factors maintain the disorder. This study examined whether avoidance and safety behaviours mediated the relationship between cognitive factors and GAD symptoms. We also examined the reverse mediation model; that is, whether cognitive factors mediated the r...

Introduction: Anxiety, mood and trauma-related disorders are common, affecting up to 20% of adults. Many of these individuals will experience symptoms of more than one disorder as diagnostically defined. However, most psychological treatments focus on individual disorders and are less effective for those who experience comorbid disorders. The HARMO...

Background: Cognitive models of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) suggest that maladaptive behaviours may contribute to the maintenance of the disorder; however, little research has concentrated on identifying and measuring these behaviours. To address this gap, the Worry Behaviors Inventory (WBI) was developed and has been evaluated within a cla...