Info and Tips for Getting the Most from ePST

Scroll down to review:

• Answers to Questions About Using ePST

• Brainstorming Review

• Choosing a Solution to Try

• Creating an Action Plan: Tips for Success

• Your Clinical Monitor

Answers to Questions About Using ePST

How many problems can I work on in ePST?

You can work on as many problems at once as you want. But, most people find starting with one in the first session works best. When you focus on one problem to start, you are more likely to make progress on it. This helps build your confidence and you start to feel better. But, if the problem you chose proves to be difficult, it’s fine to move on to a different one that you think might be easier to solve. Once you are getting the hang of it, you can add more problems during the following sessions.

Can I do more than one session in a week?

Yes, but you must allow at least 4 days between sessions. This is so you have time to carry out your action plan and do some enjoyable activities. This will help you get the most out of your use of ePST.

What if I don't get through all my problems in the 6 weeks?

It’s okay if you don’t work through your entire problem list. The point is to practice the skills and continue to use them to work on your daily life problems going forward.

How long will I have access to ePST?

Your license to use ePST is for 1 year. However, you will continue to have access to your dashboard for 10 years, as long as you have access to the email account that you used to register. Sticking with the weekly schedule will help you get the most out of the program. It’s ok if you miss a week; just reschedule and get back on track.

Is every session the same, or does it change as I go through the sessions?

The first session shows you the basics of problem-solving. Following sessions continue the problem-solving. You only review information as needed to help you improve your problem-solving skills. Later,  your therapist will help you “troubleshoot” to see what areas you should focus on to improve your problem-solving.

What if I'm not making progress?

Sometimes it can take a few weeks to get in the swing of doing the action plans and enjoyable activities. It’s okay if you find it’s moving slowly. Keep doing the sessions and see what you can learn to fine-tune your problem-solving skills. If you find that your mood is getting worse, or you are having thoughts of harming yourself or others, you may want to seek live help. If you are feeling stuck, a live therapist can help you move forward on your path to feeling better. A live therapist may also be able to help you with issues not addressed by this treatment that may be affecting your mood.

Here are some tips to get the most out of ePST:

1. Once you have made a list of your problems and have chosen one to work on in Session #1, there are multiple ways to proceed:

2. Open your Dashboard on https://ca.e-pst.com/ several times a day and review it

3. Or, print out your Action Plan, post it where you can see it. Review it several times a day

4. Use other tools that are already part of your day (e.g., project management tools) and copy your plan there.

5. Look for email reminders of your ePST activities - login when you receive them to help you stay on track with your plan

Can I share my action plan or progress report with my therapist, or someone else?

You can save any action plan and your progress report to a PDF file on your device. You can show others the PDF, print it, or send it to anyone you like.

How can I share feedback with the developers of ePST?

We welcome your feedback to helps us improve ePST. You can share feedback with us by replying to the questions that ask for your feedback at the end of each session. You can also email us at support@evermindgroup.com. Please do not email confidential information and requests for help. EverMind is not able to provide direct clinical assistance. If you have a technical problem, please submit a description of the issue in the “Contact Tech Support” tab of the dropdown menu in ePST.

Who is the ePST coach?

Dr. Mark Hegel is a foremost expert in Problem Solving Therapy. He is a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.

Dr. Hegel is an author of the Problem-solving Treatment for Primary Care clinician’s manual which is used by therapists across the United States and in other countries. He has been involved in providing problem-solving therapy to people with a wide range of health and mental health issues for over 30 years.

Brainstorming Review 

What is the point of Brainstorming, anyway?

The goal of Brainstorming. Is to come up with as many ideas as you possibly can of ways to meet your goal. This works best if you are able to let go of judging your ideas while you are making your list. Just come up with anything you can possibly think of, even wild, outlandish, or wacky ideas, without considering if they are “bad” or “good.” Letting yourself think freely will help you come with new “creative solutions” that otherwise might not occur to you.

What if I get stuck and can’t think of anything?
Many people who have trouble with brainstorming have never given themselves “permission” to not be critical of themselves. They reject their ideas even before they put them into words. For brainstorming to be most useful, it helps to adopt a non-judgmental mindset. Tell yourself things like, “Go for it!,” “Throw caution to the wind!,” “Just do it!,” “Dream Big!,” sum up the most helpful attitude to take.

If you are having trouble brainstorming new solutions, ask yourself,“What would I tell a friend if they came to you looking for advice on this?” Often, when you separate yourself from the problem it’s easier to let the ideas flow without automatically rejecting them.

How many solutions should I come up with?

The more possible solutions you come up with, the better your chances of finding ones that will work. Based on our experience, between two and six is a good number. You need at least two different options to give yourself the opportunity to compare and contrast their pros and cons. With more than six solutions, weighing the pros and cons can become complicated and confusing. The average number of solutions is about four.

I come up with ideas but I never think they will work, what should I do?

That’s okay. Don’t let this stop you from coming up with ideas. You will have plenty of opportunities to judge your ideas after you finish brainstorming and begin the next step of looking at the pros and cons of each solution. People often are surprised to find that some solutions are much more feasible than they originally thought. So, don’t shortchange yourself. Even if you have doubts about an idea, put it down!

Choosing a Solution to Try

ePST will help you to lay out the pros and cons of each of the solutions you generate. Then it will rank the solutions in order to help you decide.

Pros

The Pros for each solution are its unique advantages for solving the problem. This is more than just asking what makes the solution “good.” All solutions are “good” solutions if they stand a chance of fixing the problem. So saying a solution is “good” because it may solve the problem doesn’t help you to choose among solutions because several may share this same “good” feature. 

The more important thing to ask yourself is, “What gives this solution a unique advantage?” In other words, what about this solution sets it apart from the others? What does it do for you, or give you, that the other solutions don’t, or at least not in the same way? Identifying the unique strengths of each solution helps you compare and choose among your options.

Cons

These are the things that will get in the way of putting the solution into action, or, side effects from the solution that will create new problems. Identifying the Cons and comparing them among solutions is one of the most important parts of the problem-solving process. Carefully laying out the Cons will help you discover which solution can best resolve your problem while having the fewest negative outcomes.

Answering these questions to evaluate the Cons:

• How much time will it take? Do I have the amount of time it requires?

• How much effort will it take? Do I have the stamina, energy, and“stick-to-it-iveness” to pull it off?

• How much money will it take? Do I have the funds and can I afford to use them?

• Will it have a negative emotional impact on other people or yourself? How much?

• How much assistance from other people will it require?

Once you have answered these questions for each potential solution you are in a strong position to weigh the solutions against each other and choose a solution (or solutions) to put into action.

Comparing the Pros and Cons 

Don’t choose a solution simply based on the number of Pros and Cons. This isn’t what we do in real life. Sometimes we choose a more difficult path, in spite of many Cons and obstacles, because it will get us to our goal more quickly or more successfully. We often put up with unpleasant circumstances over a short (or even a long) period of time to reach a desirable result down the road. Just compare the solutions to each other weighing the Pros and Cons and make an informed decision. As long as you are aware of the advantages and disadvantages of each solution, you are free to pick whichever you like.

Choosing a solution

For the most part, the solutions that you will generate and compare do not necessarily exclude one another. In fact, often they will complement each other. For example, you may come up with three solutions to increasing your social connections: 

• Join a club

• Ask a coworker to go out with you after work

• Start going to church every week. 

Nothing about these solutions prevents you from doing any of the other ones. One could argue that you will reap more rewards by doing all three rather than limiting yourself to one or even two. The main thing to keep in mind when deciding how many to do is how feasible and achievable your plan is. In other words, how much do you feel you can take on? You need to be sure that you have the energy and motivation to carry out the solutions. It is better to choose only one and do it well than to choose three and then give up on the whole plan. We want you to be successful in whatever you choose to do, so be cautious about how much you take on. This is especially true when you first start because your energy may be low. As you start to feel better you may find it easier to take on more activities. 

 Action Plan: Tips for Success

To make your action plan, answer these four questions:

• What will I do?

• Who else is involved?

• When will I do it?

• Where will I do it?

The key to success is to answer each of these questions with as much detail as you can.

Once you have chosen a solution to put into action, you need to do a few more things. 

1. Make a contract with yourself. Commit yourself to the action or behavior change. Setting down your action plan in specific detail (e.g., what, when, where, when, and with whom you will do it), is like signing a contract with yourself to follow through with the plan. Make a commitment to yourself to replace your old behavior patterns and with the new plan.

2. Anticipate Obstacles. Your plan is more likely to succeed if you anticipate the obstacles that could interfere with putting your solution into place. Your life is busy and filled with many obligations, such as to your job, your family, and friends. Adding a new activity is bound to create conflicts for time, space, cooperation, money, etc. So, in creating your action plan expect such obstacles and plan what you will do if they come up. There is a saying in sports, “The best offense is a good defense.” This means that the better you can anticipate what is going to come at you, the better prepared you will be to work around these obstacles and reach your goal. So, make your action plan as specific as you possibly can and then prepare for what might throw it off course.

3. Make a Plan B. Since even the best-laid plans sometimes go wrong, you need a backup or fallback plan. This is Plan B. Let’s say your solution to a lack of exercise is to take a daily walk over your lunch hour. Well, what happens if it rains that day or your boss calls a meeting over lunch, or you have an errand to run during lunch? If you don’t have a fallback plan you are not likely to get your walk in that day. This is another reason why brainstorming as many solutions as possible is useful. If you can’t get it done one way, what are your options to reach your goal? If your Plan A doesn’t work, you have Plan B ready to go.

   This is especially true when your plan includes other people. Ideally, you want your action plan to rely on your own efforts rather than on the efforts of others. However, sometimes we need other people’s help to carry out our plans. When this is the case you need to consider what you will do if the other person is not able to do their part. This is where your Plan B comes in.

 Your Clinical Monitor (if applicable)

If you are using ePST through a clinic or organization you may be assigned a clinical monitor. This person is available to you for support while you are using ePST. Your clinical monitor will be reviewing the contents of your dashboard regularly and may contact you if they have any concerns. This helps them monitor your progress and well being. When you have completed your 6 sessions (or at any point), they can help you review your progress and plan the next steps. If you need more help, they can point you to additional resources, support, or treatment that could help you. 

Who is my clinical monitor? The name and contact information for your clinical monitor is at the top of your ePST Dashboard.

When will my clinical monitor contact me? Your clinical monitor may reach out to you if they have concerns that:

• you are feeling worse than when you started ePST

• you are at risk for self-harm

• you may be stuck or have stopped using ePST.

Can I contact my clinical monitor? You may contact your clinical monitor for help with problem-solving or if you have a mental health emergency. 

When should I contact my clinical monitor? Consider reaching out if:

• If you feel stuck or need help with any aspect of ePST

• If you have questions about your mental health or wellbeing

• You have questions about your mental health treatment or feel you may need additional help beyond ePST

• If you feel unsafe or have a mental health emergency

If, for any reason, you feel talking with a live mental health professional would be helpful.

Will I have the same clinical monitor throughout my use of ePST? In many cases, your monitor will stay the same, but depending on your personal needs and clinic staffing/availability, your monitor may change. You will be notified if your clinical monitor changes while you are using ePST.
What if it’s after hours? If you reach out to your clinical monitor after hours, you may be directed to follow the clinic's procedures for after-hours support and/or clinical care. If you are not able to reach your clinical monitor and you have an emergency, please call your local emergency services (dial 911 or applicable local number), or go to the nearest hospital emergency department.