From Apps to Digital Treatments

As the number of mental health smartphone apps has increased, so too has the need for a standardized system of evaluation that equips individuals, clinicians, and organizations with the information and considerations to make an informed choice. Combine these needs with the rising rates of mental health challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic, we now, more than ever, must equip individuals, clinicians, and organizations with the knowledge and skills to leverage smartphone apps to support the management of mental health. This symposium will be multifaceted, with three distinct portions, starting with the process and update for American Psychiatric Association (APA) framework for mental health app evaluation and the development of the APA model screener to select smartphone apps. The second portion of the symposium will walk through the use of the APA framework, with audience participants to further their understanding of how to use the framework in real-time in an effort to select smartphone apps. The last portion of the symposium will provide case-based learning pertaining to how expert panelists are using mobile apps in clinical practice and research to promote the self-management needs of the underserved, digital phenotyping for those suffering from serious mental illness and iCBT.

Steven Chan, MD, MBA – Clinical Assistant Professor, Berkeley
Margaret R. Emerson, DNP, PMHNP-BC – Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center
David Gratzer, MD – Assistant Professor, University of Toronto
Moderator: Sonia Matwin, PhD – Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University