What We’ve Learned So Far about Mobile Health for Mental Health

  • Studies of individual mobile apps are promising. “Preliminary analyses found that participants’ symptoms of stress, anxiety, depression and overall psychological distress were significantly reduced after using myCompass. Improvements were also found in functional impairment and self-efficacy.” Virginia Harrison, Judith Proudfoot, et al., Mobile mental health: review of the emerging field and proof of concept study, 2011.
  • Practitioners will need to be mobile-savvy. “Future widespread use of smartphone technology in the behavioral health field can be expected. Our increasingly mobile, tech-savvy, and health conscious society will demand care delivery solutions that expand beyond traditional office-based requirements to better fit diverse needs and lifestyles. Smartphone technology has the potential to make behavioral health care more accessible, efficient, and interactive for patients and can improve the delivery of evidence-based treatments.” David Luxton et al., mHealth for Mental Health: Integrating Smartphone Technology in Behavioral Healthcare,.2011. “Whether psychologists embrace or resist aspects of technology, they should recognize how advanced technologies are changing the way we communicate and process information, anticipate needed growth, and prepare to meet ensuing challenges to professional psychology… Key technologies that presage future trends include video teleconferencing, ‘smart’ mobile devices, cloud computing, virtual worlds, virtual reality, and electronic games.” Marlene M. Maheu et al., Future of telepsychology, telehealth, and various technologies in psychological research and practice, 2012

Excerpt from Anne Giles’s round table discussion presentation of findings from the latest meta-analyses on mobile health technology for mental illnesses on November 8, 2013 at the Virginia Counselors Association Convention.

Anne Giles, M.A., M.S., has a master’s degree in mental health counseling. Read more about Anne and please feel free to contact her.

Comments

  1. Hi, Anne. Good article. I am a licensed HeartMath provider, and we now have an app for the iPhone. Check it out at http://www.heartmath.com.