Supporting Homework Compliance in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Essential Features of Mobile Apps

Wei Tang; David Kreindler

doi:10.2196/mental.5283

Supporting Homework Compliance in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy: Essential Features of Mobile Apps

JMIR Ment Health. 2017 Jun 8;4(2):e20. doi: 10.2196/mental.5283.

Authors

Wei Tang¹, David Kreindler^{2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Discipline of Psychiatry, Department of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL, Canada.
² Division of Youth Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
³ Centre for Mobile Computing in Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Abstract

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective psychotherapy modalities used to treat depression and anxiety disorders. Homework is an integral component of CBT, but homework compliance in CBT remains problematic in real-life practice. The popularization of the mobile phone with app capabilities (smartphone) presents a unique opportunity to enhance CBT homework compliance; however, there are no guidelines for designing mobile phone apps created for this purpose. Existing literature suggests 6 essential features of an optimal mobile app for maximizing CBT homework compliance: (1) therapy congruency, (2) fostering learning, (3) guiding therapy, (4) connection building, (5) emphasis on completion, and (6) population specificity. We expect that a well-designed mobile app incorporating these features should result in improved homework compliance and better outcomes for its users.

Keywords: cognitive behavioral therapy; homework compliance; mobile apps.