Smartphone apps may be useful in managing depression

Smartphone apps may be useful in managing depression

Australia’s National Institute of Complementary Medicine(NICM), along with The University of Manchester, The Black Dog Institute, Harvard Medical School have found in a research that smartphones apps could be an effective tool for managing symptoms of depression. They also looked at how effective smartphones-based treatments could be in reducing a range of mental health symptoms and conditions including major depression, mild to moderate depression, anxiety bipolar disorder and insomnia.

The team found that overall, using a smartphone  app significantly reduced people’s depressive symptoms, appearing to be most effective for those with mild to moderate depression.

Eighteen randomized controlled trials were reviewed as part of the study, which examined a total of 22 different smartphone-delivered mental health interventions and included more than 3400 male and female participants age 18-59, all suffering from one of more of the mental health conditions.

The results also showed that although there was no difference in the effectiveness of apps which used mindfulness techniques compared to those that used cognitive Behavioural therapy or mood monitoring programs.

Although there is currently no evidence to suggest that using apps alone is more effective than standard psychological therapies, or that they reduce the need for antidepressant medications, the early results are promising.

Jennifer Nicholas, a PhD Candidate at Black Dog Institute and co-author of the paper also commented that, “Given the multitude of apps available — many of them unregulated — it’s critical that we now unlock which specific app attributes reap the greatest benefits, to help ensure that all apps available to people with depression are effective.”

The findings can be found published online in the journal World Psychiatry.