Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a therapeutic framework within psychology, with first instances as early as in the 1950s and 1960s (Ellis, 1957; Beck, 1960). It focuses on changing an individual’s cognition and behaviour through a variety of different techniques established by a plethora of researchers in the field. Cognition refers to an individual’s ability to direct their thoughts and actions (Miller, 2018). CBT has shown positive results in improving mental health as shown by a meta-analysis by Butler, Chapman, Forman, and Beck (2006), making it an effective tool for therapeutic purposes. CBT has been particularly potent when applied to the treatment of several anxiety and depressive disorders, such as generalised anxiety disorder and unipolar depression. Curiously, CBT was shown to be more effective in treating adult depression than antidepressants (Butler et al., 2006). The results of the meta-analysis show an overall pattern for multiple therapeutic applications.
However, a lot of people don’t have access to CBT or other mental health treatments, as illustrated by the whopping estimated 83 million EU citizens suffering from a mental health issue (“Data and resources”, 2018). The amount of available therapists per population varies drastically within the EU, with some countries lacking in resources they can provide for people in need of mental health care. The use of CBT is mostly only applied in therapeutic environments, however, some of the techniques rely on an individual’s own effort without supervision. Therefore, parts of CBT could also be helpful for people who are not enrolled in therapy.
CBT’s utility in mobile applications has been explored by previous research. A study by Koffel et al. (2016) investigated if a CBT application was an impactful supplement in treating insomnia for patients currently taking part in cognitive-behavioural therapy. The results of the study showed that the app did not interfere with therapy and that the users were content with using the application.
Another study within the topic studied the effectiveness of a CBT application in decreasing negative moods and increasing positive moods. A study by Kinderman et al. (2016) investigated the impact of a CBT based application that prompted users to assess an upsetting situation as if someone else had made the appraisal they originally made. The results showed a statistically significant decrease in negative mood intensity as well as an increase in positive mood intensity.
Ameliate’s Reflect CBT is an application both for everyday use and for use while enrolled in therapy. The user input can be accessed by the user themselves, as well as by their trusted therapist to be discussed in future sessions.
Ellis, A. (1957). Rational Psychotherapy and Individual Psychology. Journal of Individual Psychology, 13: 38-44.
Beck, A. T. (1967). Depression: Causes and treatment. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Beck, J. (1995) Cognitive therapy: Basics and beyond. New York: Guilford press
Butler, A., Chapman, J., Forman, E., & Beck, A. (2006). The empirical status of cognitive-behavioral therapy: A review of meta-analyses. Clinical Psychology Review, 26(1), 17-31.
Data and resources. (2018). Retrieved from http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/noncommunicable-diseases/mental-health/data-and-resources
Koffel, E., Kuhn, E., Petsoulis, N., Erbes, C., Anders, S., & Hoffman, J. et al. (2016). A randomized controlled pilot study of CBT-I Coach: Feasibility, acceptability, and potential impact of a mobile phone application for patients in cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia. Health Informatics Journal, 24(1), 3-13. doi: 10.1177/1460458216656472
Miller, E. (2018). Executive function and higher-order cognition: Definition and neural substrates. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/2836377/Executive_function_and_higher-order_cognition_Definition_and_neural_substrates