New Survey Signals Promise For Mobile Technology To Advance Mental Healthcare Treatment

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., July 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Clinical psychologists believe mobile technology applications geared to mental healthcare treatment have potential to improve patient care and practice management, based on a recent national survey conducted by market research firm Sigma Research.  According to industry experts, the new research signals a readiness among mental healthcare professionals to adopt new mobile technologies that can bridge data gaps to improve therapy practice.

The survey indicates that nearly three-quarters of respondents (73 percent) feel that a mental health technology app would be useful to tracking client progress and 59 percent felt that it was useful for treatment planning.  More than half of survey respondents (66 percent) believe that being able to obtain additional data on clients using a mobile technology app would improve their ability to treat them.  Furthermore, 68 percent of clinicians surveyed felt that integrating additional data from apps for mental health tracking into therapy practices would help clinicians advance their profession. 

View infographic of survey results here: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140731/132087

"Therapists traditionally don't know much about what's happening to and with their clients when they aren't in the therapist's office," said Dr. Daniel Gilbert, a Professor of Psychology at Harvard University and a senior research director at SelfEcho.  "I think mobile technology applications have the potential to close this gap by using client-approved real time monitoring to communicate important information to therapists so they can improve their treatment."

The study surveyed 401 mental health clinicians from various specialties, including licensed professional counselors, licensed clinical psychologists, licensed clinical social workers and licensed marriage and family therapists.  The respondents were from the Northeast, Midwest, Southern and Western regions of the United States.  SelfEcho, a leading developer of technical solutions for mental health practitioners, commissioned the survey. 

About SelfEcho
Based in Santa Barbara, Calif., SelfEcho www.selfecho.com applies technology in creative ways to enhance well-being, mental health and productivity.  The company and its founders are committed to the bridging the gap between clinical experts within the field of psychology and the business sphere.  SelfEcho's management team includes accomplished experts in psychology and award-winning entrepreneurs.  The company is funded by Santa Barbara-based venture fund, Quantified Fund www.quantifiedfund.com.

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SOURCE SelfEcho