Applied Psychology and Psychiatry

Biography:

Allison Lamont PhD(Psychology), MA(Hons), CPsychol, MNZPsS, MNZAC, completed a PhD at Massey University, New Zealand, in 2008. This comprised a longitudinal study of memory across the adult lifespan. She is a Director and Clinician at the Auckland Memory Clinic in New Zealand, working primarily with memory testing and the amelioration of memory loss. She has authored and co-authored several books on memory and is co-founder of Brainfit^® and the Memory Foundation. She has a particular interest in the way increasing stresses and demands of the workplace impact on memory function.

Abstract:

Impaired memory functioning, normally associated with the late-middle age and older demographic, is now reported by emergency first responders and people aged between 38 and 52 years engaged in high stress corporate or professional careers. Clinical test results of this population typically reflect high average to superior memory ability, showing no significant correlation with individual, day-to-day experiences of diminished work functioning. Clients, both in clinical and workplace environments, report fearing severe memory loss or even early-onset neurodegenerative disease.  The stress and anxiety generated by such fears, the loss of memory and decision-making confidence, combined with information overload endemic during the peak of a demanding career, intertwine to affect functioning both in the workplace and other facets of an individual’s life. To address these deficiencies, an interactive programme combining stress management, efficient brain processing and memory skills enhancement has been delivered one-on-one or in workplace seminars. Qualitative analysis of outcomes indicates increased control over stress, enhanced information processing and a return to memory accuracy. To facilitate access to the programme a comprehensive training academy is producing graduates able to deliver the research-based programme in a variety of settings.

Biography:

Richelle has completed her postgradual training in clinical psychotherapy at the University of Mannheim and is now completing her doctoral work. She has her own private practice and also works as a freelancer for various online psychotherapy companies. 

Abstract:

Purpose: There has been a substantial increase in the use of smartphone applications (apps) to monitor, evaluate and manage mental health symptoms (Research Guidance, 2017). While many treatments could benefit from the incorporation of mental health apps, exposure therapy could particularly benefit from real-time data collection to help counteract patients’ retrospective recall biases. This small-scale study (n = 16) assessed a university developed mental health app called ETMOS by evaluating its perceived usefulness in planning, implementing and evaluating exposure therapy.

Methods: Six psychotherapists and 10 patients were recruited from two outpatient clinics at the Center for Psychological Psychotherapists (CPP) in Mannheim. After using ETMOS for one week, participants evaluated its engagement, functionality, aesthetics and information quality, as well as its subjective quality by filling out the German end-user version of the Mobile App Rating Scale (uMARS-G). All items were rated on a 5-point scale (1 = inadequate to 5 = excellent).

Results: Participants rated ETMOS with an above average rating on the aesthetics, functionality and information subscales (3.76, 4.04 and 4.09, respectively) and with an average rating on the engagement subscale (3.27). Overall, ETMOS had an above average total score (3.78, SD = 0.29) and received 3.6 out of 5 stars on the subjective quality subscale. Additional analyses showed that uMARS scores were not related to frequency of use or participants’ age. 

Conclusions: This study gained valuable information regarding the user friendliness and clinical applicability of ETMOS. Future research should assess its influence on long-term therapeutic outcomes.