This week in class we discussed the use of mobile applications as an intervention for psychological disorders. Psychiatric apps offer many benefits that traditional health care does not offer such as portability, low-cost, and additional features such as notifications to record moods and triggers. However, one main limitation of these applications is that even though there is well over 5,000 of them only a few have been studied for empirical support. Some of these include: PTSD coach for helping veterans manage this disorder, Mobilyze focused on the treatment of Major Depression, and finally Step Away which is an intervention for those struggling with Alcohol Use Disorder and other Substance Use disorders.
The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) has a webpage that anybody can visit in order to help them find a useful psychiatric application. The ADAA rates all the apps on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being low and 5 being high) on ease of use, effectiveness, personalization, interactive/feedback, and research evidence. However, they have only just under 20 apps listed which shows just how much more research needs to be done in the effectiveness of these apps. These apps include some which have covered in class previously such as: PTSD coach, MoodTools, Moodkit & Pacifica (which I will be focusing on for my final paper. In addition to many apps in which have not yet discussed such as: What's My M3 (mood disorders), CPT coach (PTSD), Live OCD Free, Anxiety Reliever, and iCBT (cognitive behavioral therapy for multiple diagnosis).
While I am very pleased to see that markets recognize a need for these apps and are taking initiative to create them, I hope that a balance can be made between the creation of these apps and the amount of research and randomized control trials scientists are capable of doing. I would be very disappointed to see a few psychiatric apps (which are not scientifically based) gain popularity and ruin the name of effective psychiatric apps.
As an aspiring psychologist I would be willing to recommend the use of these apps, but encourage them to utilize these applications with skills taught in therapy. Additionally, I would be willing to recommend a psychiatric app which has not been thoroughly reviewed if I found it to be effective as a practicing psychologist, in addition to it being free.
https://www.adaa.org/finding-help/mobile-apps
I find your information about the ADAA is very interesting. I did not know anything about this before. I think it would be very beneficial for patients to be able to see how these apps are rated in various aspects like effectiveness and personalization and see what app would be best for their needs.
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