Clinical Intervention Trainings

Presented by:

Stephen M. Schueller, Ph.D., Associate Professor, University of California, Irvine

Participants earn 4 continuing education credits

Categories: Technology / Digital Health

Keywords: Technology / Digital Health; Treatment; Education and Training

Basic to moderate level of familiarity with the material.

A multitude of digital mental health tools exist with various features and capabilities. However, despite their proliferation, few providers are using these digital mental health tools in their clinical practice. This presentation will provide an overview of digital mental health tools including identifying some common features and capabilities of such tools.

We will also discuss various competencies related to the use of these in clinical practice. These include how to evaluate digital mental health tools and consider aspects such as credibility, user experience, and data security and privacy, and how to incorporate digital mental health tools into clinical workflows. This presentation will emphasize best practices in the use of these tools and highlight some of the challenges providers might face when incorporating these tools into their practice. Specific attention will be focused on digital mental health tools that relate to cognitive and behavioral practice.

Outline:

• Overview of Digital Mental Health Tools
  • What do digital mental health tools do and not do
  • What are the common features of digital mental health tools?
  • What are the common use cases of digital mental health tools?
• Differentiating Models for Use of Digital Mental Health Tools
  • Continuums of digital mental health tools
    • Stand alone tools
    • Therapy adjuncts
    • Therapy extenders
• Do Digital Mental Health Tools Work?
  • An overview of randomized controlled trials for digital mental health tools
  • Supported vs. unsupported digital mental health tools
  • Models of support for digital mental health
• Overview of Core Competencies for Digital Mental Health
  • 5 steps for mobile health clinical integration
    • Workflow
    • Introduction
    • Recommendation
    • Data Review
    • Documentation
• Evaluating Digital Mental Health Tools
  • Evidence-Base
  • User Experience
  • Data Security and Privacy
• Using Digital Mental Health Tools in Practice
  • Practice introducing digital mental health tools in one’s practice
  • Overview of data review and documentation

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:

• Identify common features present in digital mental health tools.
• Explain factors to assess when considering adoption of mental health apps
• Describe steps of incorporating digital mental health tools into clinical practice workflows.
• Identify common barriers and facilitators to the uptake of digital mental health tools.
• Describe the evidence supporting the use of digital mental health tools.
• Describe steps in evaluating digital mental health tools.

Long-term Goals:

• Use existing frameworks to identify digital mental health tools and integrate them into cognitive and behavioral treatment plans.
• Apply frameworks to review and evaluate digital mental health tools.

Recommended Readings:

Lagan, S., D’Mello, R., Vaidyam, A., Bilden, R., & Torous, J. (2021). Assessing mental health apps marketplaces with objective metrics from 29,190 data points from 278 apps. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 144(2), 201-210.

Neary, M., & Schueller, S. M. (2018). State of the field of mental health apps. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 25(4), 531-537.

O’Loughlin, K., Neary, M., Adkins, E. C., & Schueller, S. M. (2019). Reviewing the data security and privacy policies of mobile apps for depression. Internet interventions, 15, 110-115.

Schueller, S. M., Armstrong, C. M., Neary, M., & Ciulla, R. P. (2022). An introduction to core competencies for the use of mobile apps in cognitive and behavioral practice. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 29(1), 69-80.

Schueller, S. M., Washburn, J. J., & Price, M. (2016). Exploring mental health providers’ interest in using web and mobile-based tools in their practices. Internet interventions, 4, 145-151.

Schueller, S. M., Wasil, A. R., Bunyi, J., DeRubeis, R. J., & Weisz, J. R. (2023). Mental Health Apps for Children and Adolescents: A Clinician-Friendly Review. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, S0890-8567.