Top 5 Mental Health Apps To Get You Through The Holiday Season
HAPPYneuron Pro is a web-based cognitive remediation suite designed to be used by qualified professionals treating individuals suffering from disorders in cognitive functioning. HAPPYneuron Pro has a number of cognitive therapy exercises that target areas of Executive Functioning, Verbal Memory, Visual Memory, Spatial Memory, Visual and Spatial Abilities, Visual Attention, Processing Speed, and Auditory areas. Exercises include deciphering quotations, sorting numbers in a grid, mentally rotating figures, categorizing words and determining where to place them. HAPPYneuron pro is intended for those who are dealing with symptoms of depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia as well as people who are aging or dealing with cognitive issues due to brain injuries.
Read the Professional Review for HAPPYneuron Pro: Rehabilitation Program: A Professional Review Read the Professional Review for HAPPYneuron Pro: CR-Psychiatry Program: A Professional ReviewAvailable for: Available on the Web.
Developer: HAPPYneuron, Inc.
Type of Treatment: Cognitive Training
Targeted Conditions: Mood Disorders, Schizophrenia, Stress and Anxiety
Target Audience: Not Specified
Designed to be used in conjunction with a professional? Recommended
Languages Available: English and more
Cost: Payment Required
Get it on: Web
In one study, participants were randomized to treatment or wait list control conditions. Participants were assessed on cognitive, mood, motivation, and functioning measures. Treatment consisted of 10 weeks of weekly group sessions and daily online cognitive exercises completed at home. There was a significant time by treatment interaction for attention/processing speed and verbal memory. Changes in functioning were not significant, although improved cognition predicted improvements in functioning. Number of minutes of online exercise was associated with greater cognitive improvements. (Bowie CR, Gupta M, Holshausen K, Jokic R, Best, M, Milev, R. 2013. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23896849)
In another study, outpatients with schizophrenia (N=107) were randomly assigned to receive cognitive remediation, functional adaptation skills training, or combined treatment, with cognitive remediation preceding functional skills training. Clinical symptoms, neurocognition, social competence, functional competence, and case-manager-rated real-world behavior were assessed at baseline, at end of treatment, and at a 12-week durability assessment. Cognitive remediation alone did not produce significant improvements in real-world behavior, but when combined with functional skills training, statistically significant improvements from baseline to end of treatment and follow-up were observed in community or household activities and work skills. In a short intervention, cognitive remediation produced robust improvements in neurocognition. (Bowie, C. R., McGurk, S. R., Mausbach, B., Patterson, T. L., & Harvey, P. D. 2012. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22581070)
In a study published in 2013, the benefits of an individualized therapy (RECOS program) were compared with the more general cognitive remediation therapy (CRT). 138 participants took part with 65 randomized to CRT and 73 to RECOS. The main outcome was the total score on BADS (Behavioural Assessment of Dysexecutive Syndrome) and the secondary outcomes were: cognition (executive functions; selective attention; visuospatial memory and attention; verbal memory; working memory) and clinical measures (symptoms; insight; neurocognitive complaints; self-esteem). Significant improvements were found in several secondary outcomes including cognition (executive functions, selective attention, verbal memory, and visuospatial abilities) and clinician measures (symptoms and awareness to be hampered by cognitive deficits in everyday) in both treatment arms following treatment. Self-esteem improved only in RECOS arm at T3, and working memory improved only in CRT arm at T2 and T3, but there were no differences in changes between arms. (Franck, N. et al. 2013. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23583327)
We review apps against rating criteria developed by experts in the field. Some of those criteria are:
We look at the research supporting the technology and the credibility of the development process.
We review privacy policies to see if key pieces of information about what happens with entered data are addressed.
We explore how fun, functional, easy-to-use, engaging, and interesting the technology is.
A professional in a relevant field downloads and uses the technology and writes a narrative review, highlighting pros & cons and some recommendations for use.