Like we’ve heard hundreds of times, “there’s an app for that!” Mobile apps are ubiquitous in modern life. With the proliferation of mental health apps available in app stores, it can be difficult to determine which apps have been rigorously tested and validated. Additionally, the mental health app market is largely unregulated, meaning that many apps may make claims about their effectiveness without sufficient evidence to support them. This can be problematic, as using an app without evidence-based support may not only be a waste of time and money but also potentially harmful if it leads to delayed treatment or incorrect self-diagnosis. How is a mental health practitioner to find evidence-based apps to use in therapy? And what are the challenges to NOT considering utilizing mobile apps in clinical work? Join us in a fascinating discussion with Dr. Greg Reger about the current mental health mobile app landscape and you can integrate mobile app use in your clinical practice.Dr. Greg Reger is the Deputy Associate Chief of Staff for Mental Health at the VA Puget Sound Health Care System and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He received his PhD in Clinical Psychology from Fuller Theological Seminary and completed his psychology internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He served with the 98th Combat Stress Control Detachment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord and deployed to Iraq for a year prior to working for the Department of Defense National Center for Telehealth and Technology (T2). Dr. Reger’s research is focused on the design, development, and evaluation of innovative technologies to support Service Member and Veteran psychological health.Resources mentioned in this episode:

• M-Health Index and Navigation Database Mobile Health Index and Navigation Database, App Evaluation Resources from the Division of Digital Psychiatry at BIDMC (mindapps.org)

• One Mind PsyberGuide One Mind PsyberGuide | A Mental Health App Guide

• VA Mental Health Applications VA App Store | VA Mobile

• No personal knowledge of accuracy but I am told this is the current library of DoD apps (including MH apps) DHA PWAs (health.mil)

• Psychiatry.org - The App Evaluation Model

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