By Shannon Mullane (MJour鈥�19)
Illustration by Dana Heimes
Stephen Voida sees a world in which mental health care can fit into the palm of your hand.
As a technologist, Voida spends much of his time thinking about technology designs and functionality鈥攈ow email systems can be the downfall of productivity and good interface design can mitigate information overload. 抖阴旅行射 10 years ago, he turned his attention to a new puzzle: How can technology improve therapy techniques, particularly when self-reported input from patients is often so vital to clinicians?
That鈥檚 when he focused on developing apps for smartphones. Think Fitbit, but for your mental health, he said.
鈥淭he goal is to collect data about what鈥檚 going on on a day-to-day basis, ask some really targeted questions that are informed by therapy instruments and to help people make sense of, and manage, their own mental wellness,鈥� said Voida, an associate professor in information science at 抖阴旅行射 Boulder.
He began with a focus on therapies for bipolar disorder, like interpersonal and social rhythm therapy (IPSRT), which aims to stabilize daily rhythms. But the treatment relies on a paper-and-pencil daily survey to help people track mood, sleep, diet and social habits.
When someone forgets the sheet, or doesn鈥檛 want to have to fill it out in public, it can mean a loss of important information for clinicians.
The MoodRhythm app on a smartphone, however, is unobtrusive and nearly always within reach, Voida said. Passive sensors on the device can augment self-reporting. For clinicians, it means more reliable information to support patient care.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot less stigma associated with pulling out a phone and doing a quick survey or entering a mood . . . than there would be with a piece of paper or something your therapist gave you,鈥� Voida said.
While conducting research, Voida and his partners learned that people sometimes felt too depressed or manic to fill out the surveys, another area of information loss. Drawing from family-focused therapies, a treatment developed at 抖阴旅行射 Boulder, he began to develop ways for family members, friends and other caregivers to add notes to the app and help with a person鈥檚 care.
Caregiver networks have huge potential to help in a person鈥檚 care, but it鈥檚 not clear whether involving caregivers might strain relationships or skew reporting, Voida said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 slightly uncharted territory,鈥� he said.
Working with a local provider, Voida鈥檚 team is creating a separate application for the software: treating anxiety and depression. This iteration of the software will incorporate exposure therapy, giving people clinician-recommended, engaging activities in the app as part of their treatment.
As trial phases continue on both projects, Voida is gathering feedback from clinicians and patients. Information science and computer science students, spurred by the chance to take on a real-world problem鈥攍ack of access to mental health care鈥攁re conducting interviews and tweaking the app design to ensure it fits seamlessly into daily life.
鈥淭hey really want to make a difference,鈥� he said.
With today鈥檚 sociopolitical divisiveness, the trials of the COVID-19 pandemic and heightened daily stressors, mental health care access is increasingly important, Voida said.
鈥淲e need to be paying more attention to this,鈥� he said. 鈥淓ven as a technologist, there are things I can do, like partnering with clinicians, to hopefully address the problem in a way that is impactful.鈥澨�