Hey Siri, I’m Feeling Anxious: Apps for Anxiety

by Annabelle Parr

There seems to be an app for everything these days. Smartphones have become like little pocket genies – your wish is its command. Whether you want a date, a ride, or help with a physical or mental health concern, your smartphone claims to have you covered. 

Recently, there has been a surge in apps claiming to help calm anxiety. Some offer mood tracking, others offer guided breathing and meditation, still others allow you to track your thoughts, claiming to utilize CBT methods to help you reframe unhelpful ideas. While technology can be a powerful tool, it’s important to think critically about how we use it and the effect it can have before we rely on it too heavily.

What does the data say about anxiety apps?

Depression and Anxiety: The official journal of the ADAA recently published a study conducted to assess commercially available anxiety apps. Researchers analyzed 52 anxiety/worry relief apps that purportedly use psychological techniques. They discovered that 67.3% of the apps were developed without any input from a healthcare professional, and only 3.8% of them had been rigorously tested.

So the people developing anxiety apps may not actually know much about anxiety, and they almost certainly don’t know if their app will really help you.

Authors of the study concluded that while apps have the potential to broaden access to mental health resources, there is currently a major lack of data regarding the efficacy and effectiveness of the available options. As such, the application space has yet to reach its full potential in helping people with anxiety.

What if an anxiety app is helping me?

Of course, the issue here is a lack of data. You may have found an anxiety app that does help you to manage your worry throughout the day. Guided meditations, breathing exercises, and journaling our thoughts and feelings can certainly be useful.

Should I ask Siri or a professional?

However, an app does not replace professional treatment. If you are dealing with anxiety that is impairing your ability to function in your day to day life, it’s important to seek professional guidance.

Human connection is important for our mental health.

Furthermore, while apps may one day prove to be a useful anxiety management tool, they will never replace the human connection that takes place in the context of therapy. In fact, it is actually the therapeutic relationship itself that is the most important aspect of therapy – it accounts for around 30% of the variance in treatment outcome, which is significantly more than any other factor, including the specific techniques used by the therapist (like CBT or mindfulness). This means that who your therapist is, how you relate to them, and the relationship you share is the most helpful part of therapy. An app will never be able to offer this relationship.

Technology may help us manage anxiety, but it may also be a source of anxiety.

Finally, when considering anxiety apps, it is important to note that according to the APA, smartphone use has been linked to higher stress levels, particularly in those who check their phones constantly.

Given the rapid development of technology and its ever broadening influence in our lives, it is important that we stay curious and aware of the potential it has to both help and hinder us, particularly when it comes to something as important as our mental health.

CSAM IS HERE TO HELP

If you or someone you love might benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), or biofeedback for anxiety, depression, stress, or PTSD, or if you would like more information about our therapy services, please contact us at (858) 354-4077 or at csamsandiego@gmail.com.

References:

American Psychological Association (2017). Stress in America: Coping with Change. Stress in America™ Survey.

Sucala, M., Cuijpers, P., Muench, F., Cardos, R., Soflau, R., Dobrean, A., Achimas-Cadariu, P., & David, D. (2017). Anxiety: There is an app for that. A systematic review of anxiety apps. Depression and Anxiety: The official journal of ADAA, 34(6). 518-525. 

The Importance of Clinical Research

By: Sarah Bond

Clinical research is fundamental to the advancement and understanding of the field of psychology.  It is important not to underestimate the significance that clinical research has had upon the development and implementation of psychological interventions.  This is accomplished by randomly selecting a subset of the population to serve as a sample in which the potential effect(s) of a given variable are observed.  Clinical research provides practitioners and researchers with insight into the effectiveness of the associated variable(s) under study.  It helps us examine isolated factors that may not be clearly evident outside of a controlled setting.  For example, we may examine the clinical treatment outcome of a specific intervention to determine whether or not it is an effective treatment for a given disorder.

In order to further advance standards of care, we must compare current treatment options to novel interventions.  This challenges us to continuously advance our understanding of the most relevant and beneficial treatments available for our clients.  We have an ethical obligation to ensure that we understand how a given intervention will likely influence the treatment outcome prior to determining the best approach to utilize when helping a client.

Clinical studies provide findings that allow practitioners to analyze data and generalize interpretations to help their clients.  For instance, both cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) have been indicated by clinical research to be efficacious treatments for anxiety disorders as well as many other conditions (e.g., depression, chronic pain, eating disorders).  Clinical research provides a means for psychologists to determine the best type of treatment for their clients.

Most clinical studies utilize human participants.  There are strict ethical guidelines set forth by the American Psychological Association (APA) that must be ensured prior to and throughout administration.  For this reason, all academic research studies must submit a research proposal to be reviewed by the respective university’s Institutional Review Board (IRB).  In doing so, the IRB is obligated to determine whether or not a given study is ethical prior to implementation.  During the study, participants are asked to sign an informed consent, which is similar to a contract.  It thoroughly explains the intention and potential risks associated with the study.  If any deception is used, it is mandatory to debrief participants following administration.

In essence, clinical research is important to providing optimal client care.  It not only deepens our understanding of current practices, but it also helps us advance and learn about new treatment options that can potentially improve treatment outcomes.  We depend upon clinical studies to help us understand how different variables influence our daily lives.

If you are interested in being a participant in clinical research, you can visit https://www.facebook.com/Paidresearchsandiego.

Tags: San Diego, psychology, psychologist, research, clinical research