Smartphone Psychology: New Approaches Towards Safe and Efficacious Mobile Mental Health Apps

Abstract

Practicing psychologists are being faced with the reality that mobile mental health apps for smartphones and tablet devices are increasing in popularity. This growth area within e-mental health has been well documented in <I>Professional Psychology: Research and Practice</I>. This article provides an update on the issues of safety and efficacy in mental health app development, two of the biggest concerns that practicing psychologists have about these new digital tools. Governments and medical authorities are wrestling with how to regulate the health app market to avoid harm to users. At the same time, a lack of research into the efficacy and effectiveness of most mental health apps in the various app stores leaves clinicians and consumers with uncertainty. The vast majority of the limited research to date has been completed by those involved in an app’s development. Further independent research and replication are required to demonstrate legitimacy and increase the acceptance of mental health apps as valid sources of therapy. Complicating this issue is disparity about an acceptable methodology for examining the effectiveness of a mental health app. This article proposes a new approach to incorporate multiple baseline single-case designs to increase the amount of evidence and to guide larger-scale randomized controlled trials, something that could and should include practicing psychologists. This novel approach also proposes that mental health apps undergo a new “certification” process with the participation of app store marketplaces.