Total Credits: 1.5
Mental health digital therapeutics involve the use of software programs to deliver evidence-based and validated interventions to treat mental and behavioral health disorders, such as chronic insomnia, panic, and substance use disorders. They are not direct-to-consumer apps and require a prescription or order by a licensed practitioner as part of a treatment plan. They have the potential to increase and expand access and options to care and improve population health and health equity. However, policy barriers potentially stand in the way of scalable dissemination and implementation. This program will describe this emerging technology and the evidence supporting its use, it’s potential to increase access to care and improve health equity, what is being done to address the existing barriers within healthcare, and what successful implementation in private practice could look like.
Learning Objectives:
(1) Describe what digital therapeutics are and how they are different from wellness apps
(2) Summarize how digital therapeutics can expand access and health equity to marginalized populations
(3) Summarize the steps to successful implementation in private practice
References/Citations:
(1) Werntz, A., Amado, S., Jasman, M., Ervin, A., & Rhodes, J. E. (2023). Providing human support for the use of digital mental health interventions: Systematic meta-review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e42864.
(2) Kruse, C. S., Betancourt, J. A., Gonzales, M., Dickerson, K., & Neer, M. (2022). Leveraging mobile health to manage mental health/behavioral health disorders: Systematic literature review. JMIR Mental Health, 9, e42501.
(3) Zhou, E. S., Ritterband, L. M., Bethea, T. N., Robles, Y. P., Heeren, T. C., & Rosenberg, L. (2022). Effect of culturally tailored, internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia in Black women: A randomized clinical trial. JAMA Psychiatry, April 20, 2022.
(4) Kollins, S. H., Childress, A., Heusser, A. C., & Lutz, J. (2021). Effectiveness of a digital therapeutic as adjunct to treatment with medication in pediatric ADHD. NPJ Digital Medicine, 4:58.
(5) Patel, N. A., & Butte, A. J. (2020). Characteristics and challenges of the clinical pipeline of digital therapeutics. NPJ Digital Medicine, 3:159.
Dr. Marnie Shanbhag is APA’s inaugural Senior Director for the Office of Independent Practice. In this role, she leads APA’s efforts to promote independent practice and support private practitioners as part of APA’s goals to advance the profession. Her office works to help independent practitioners meet the realities of today while preparing for the demands of tomorrow.
Dr. Shanbhag is a PSYPACT authorized, Florida licensed psychologist with seventeen years’ experience in independent private practice prior to joining APA. Her expertise spans both mental health practice providing adult psychotherapy services and applied practice providing executive coaching and consulting services, with interests in leadership and maternal health. Prior to opening her own practice, Dr. Shanbhag served as the Executive Director of a nonprofit agency, coordinating maternal and child health systems. Dr. Shanbhag is a member of the APA, APA Divisions 42 (Psychologists in Independent Practice) and 13 (Society of Consulting Psychology), as well as the Florida Psychological Association.
Vaile Wright, PhD is the inaugural Senior Director for the Office of Health Care Innovation at the American Psychological Association. As a licensed psychologist and researcher, she develops cutting-edge strategies to harness technology and data, tackling critical health care challenges. Her work focuses on expanding access and reach, measuring care, improving efficiencies, and optimizing treatment delivery at both the individual and systemic levels. As a prominent spokesperson for APA, her expertise has been sought out across major media platforms including CNN, NBC News, The New York Times, and NPR on a range of topics including telehealth and technology, AI, and access to mental health care. Dr. Wright earned her PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and is licensed in the District of Columbia.