Can Different Types of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Skills on Smartphones Help Prevent and Reduce Depression?

What you need to know

• Researchers are testing five different cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills delivered through a smartphone app to help prevent and reduce depression symptoms
• The study will determine which CBT skills work best for different types of people
• Results could help create more personalized and effective mental health apps

The Growing Need for Accessible Mental Health Support

Picture this: You’re feeling down and overwhelmed, but not quite depressed enough to seek professional help. You know you should do something before these feelings get worse, but traditional therapy seems like a big step. Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Millions of people experience these “subthreshold” depression symptoms that, while not severe enough to qualify as clinical depression, can still significantly impact their quality of life and potentially develop into more serious problems.

A New Approach Using Smartphone Technology

The RESiLIENT trial represents an innovative approach to this challenge. Researchers are testing a smartphone app that teaches five different cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) skills:

• Cognitive restructuring: Learning to identify and change unhelpful thought patterns
• Behavioral activation: Increasing engagement in meaningful activities
• Problem-solving: Developing better ways to tackle life’s challenges
• Assertion training: Learning to express feelings and needs effectively
• Behavior therapy for insomnia: Improving sleep habits and patterns

The app provides interactive lessons, worksheets, and practical exercises to help users learn and apply these skills in their daily lives.

How the Study Works

This large-scale trial will involve around 5,200 adults from the general population. What makes this study unique is its design - it will test different combinations of these CBT skills to determine:

1. Which skills are most effective at reducing depression symptoms
2. How different skills might work better for different types of people
3. Whether certain combinations of skills work better together

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive different combinations of these skills through the app and will be followed for 50 weeks to track their progress.

Making Mental Health Support More Personal

One of the most exciting aspects of this research is its potential to help match people with the specific CBT skills that will work best for them. Just as we know that not all medications work the same way for everyone, the researchers believe that different CBT skills might be more effective for different people based on their individual characteristics and circumstances.

What This Means for You

If successful, this research could lead to more personalized and effective mental health support that’s accessible right from your smartphone. Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, future mental health apps could recommend specific CBT skills based on your individual needs and characteristics.

This could be particularly valuable for:

• People experiencing early signs of depression who want to prevent it from getting worse
• Those who face barriers to accessing traditional therapy
• Anyone looking to build better mental health coping skills

Conclusions

• Smartphone-based CBT skills could provide accessible, effective support for preventing and reducing depression symptoms
• Different combinations of CBT skills may work better for different people
• This research could help create more personalized digital mental health tools in the future