Taking Psychosis Therapy Into the Digital Age

 

SlowMo is set to undergo further development and analysis, and its potential for facilitating behavioural changes will be explored in greater detail. Two further papers, one focusing on the research team’s most recent case series and the other on the design research process for the development of SlowMo, are currently being prepared.

Frontiers in Public Health has already published the research team’s initial feasibility findings, which indicate that the app provides a means of overcoming barriers to access, uptake and adherence to therapies for psychosis.³ A more in-depth feasibility study and randomized control trial are planned. NHS psychosis services in South London & Maudsley, Oxford, and Sussex Foundation Trusts are supporting the clinical trialling of the platform, which the PRP want to make free of charge at point of access.

Conclusion

This innovative digital therapy platform is showing great promise as a means of assisting people experiencing distressing paranoid thoughts to develop coping skills. Furthermore, it will provide those accessing therapy with an important tool for translating what is learned in therapy into their daily lives. The platform is still undergoing trials as, according to Hardy, “We want to ensure that we have established safety, acceptability, usability and efficacy before we release it.” In the meantime, a video demonstrating how the platform is used can be viewed,⁴ and Hardy encourages interested parties to contact her for further information.

Editor’s note: Dr Amy Hardy can be contacted at: [email protected].

Nicola Davies, PhD, is a psychologist and freelance writer who lives in Bedfordshire, UK. She has a love of learning and a passion for making scientific knowledge accessible to everyone. 

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