Tips for Doctors Working With Kids, Teens Using Mental Health Apps

Mobile apps for mental health and wellness have changed the way that people —particularly youth—track and care for their mental health. With more than 10,000 mental health–related apps on the market today, how can doctors best help youth navigate this rapidly expanding and evolving terrain?In anarticle appearing in theJournal of the American Academy of Child& Adolescent Psychiatry, Stephen M. Schueller, Ph.D., of the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues recommend three actions that doctors can take to support youth using or interested in mental health apps:1. Understand the content within mental health apps.“Although many mental health apps exist, only a few are widely used,” Schueller and colleagues write. “[C]linicians may find it helpful to learn the content of those apps that are reaching a significant youth audience.” The authors recommend that doctors spend 10 to 30 minutes exploring each popular app, reviewing resources that summarize information about mental health apps (see APA’sApp Advisor), and asking young people about which apps they use and how they use them.2. Explore motivation around the use of mental health apps.Once a person (young and old alike) has downloaded a mental health app, it can be difficult to stick with it, the authors note. Motivational interviewing techniques offer one strategy for helping youth to explore their reasons for using an app. “Clinicians can play an important role in helping youth decide whether to...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: clinicians JAACAP kids mental health apps motivation motivational interviewing risks teens youth Source Type: research