I-Corps: Self-adherence and Self-motivated Training for Dealing with Post-Traumatic Stress: A Smartphone Solution

Suny College At Oswego, Oswego NY

Investigators

Abstract

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) started out as a practice to reduce stress in patients with pain and illnesses. Research into MBSR and its benefits go beyond stress reduction. Practicing MBSR has been shown to provide better focus, possible regulation of cortisol levels, quality of life improvement to name a few. Historically, during cognitive therapies it is important for the patient to practice the tools taught when away from therapy; however, ensuring adherence and correctly applying the tools are often left to the patient, their interpretation, and their memory. This team proposes to take the current online MBSR intervention program and turn it into a mobile application product that will assist clinical treatment and cognitive therapy. The proposed mobile application may be used by therapists to supplement cognitive therapy training for their patients. MBSR is useful for invention on PTSD and other anxiety disorders. The proposed app will help the therapist to connect to clients and track the progress. It will also ensure that the clients receive sufficient guidance in their daily monitoring and improvement. The app will also be designed into an open system to continuously update and incorporate effective intervention components identified from research. Many people due to stigma, societal perception, or perhaps lack of access will not come forward for assistance for mental disorders; thus, this mobile application may provide new tools to cope and open the door to further treatment. The core client app development will be built on an agnostic mobile software development platform. Utilizing an agnostic platform build will align the app to be able to be released quickly and seamlessly on multiple mobile operating systems (OS) at or near the same time. This type of development opens access to a larger customer base.