Check out our website at https://skills.digitalpsych.org/

Purpose

 Those with mental health conditions have access to smartphones, but many are unaware of the potential benefits a smartphone could provide in managing their mental health. The Digital Outreach for Obtaining Resources and Skills (DOORS) program aims to close this "digital divide"

Method

The DOORS program is a series of pragmatic and interactive lessons designed to develop new functional skills for accessing and utilizing the promise of digital health. Lessons educate and empower patients to make informed decisions around smartphone use and digital tools that can contribute to their personal wellness and recovery. 

Revamped

​COVID-19 has made it increasingly difficult to access mental health care and treatment. Thus, the need for digital care and online resources has only increased. Over the past few months, our efforts have been focused on creating a website that is both inclusive and informative, with the goal of expanding it to offer online trainings. For details on what our future efforts will entail, please check out the videos below. Our new website, pictured on the left, will launch on August 27th. 

 

Blueprints for Next Steps:
(Planned Pending Funding)

Student Dashboard

Instructor Dashboard

Administrator Dashboard

Collection

At each DOORS session we collect qualitative feedback to better understand how participants use their phone and what features of digital health they are most interested in learning. We also assess their ability to perform the skills taught before and after each lesson to assess the effectiveness of the course.

Interpretation

After each DOORS session, we reassess the strengths and weaknesses of the course to adapt the curriculum for our next group.  This involves changing material based on interest or adapting the group for age and skill level.

Implementation

We have completed 6 sessions of DOORS at 4 different sites, each running between 4-8 weeks.  We will soon expand to 2 new sites with an updated curriculum. For details, please visit
​ https://digitalskillstraining.weebly.com/

Curriculum Overview

See our full curriculum at https://digitalskillstraining.weebly.com/curriculum.html

Session 1: Establishing Smartphone Skills

Session 2: Building Wellness Habits

Session 3: Managing Responsibilities

Session 4: Staying Connected

Session 5: Keeping Informed

Session 6: Expanding Knowledge

Session 7: Navigating Safely

Session 8: Enjoying Downtime

Relevant Reading

• Torous J, Wisniewski H, Liu G, Keshavan M.Mental Health Mobile Phone App Usage, Concerns, and Benefits Among Psychiatric Outpatients: Comparative Survey Study. JMIR Ment Heal. 2018;5(4):e11715.doi:10.2196/11715
• Torous J, Chan SR, Yee-Marie Tan S, et al.Patient Smartphone Ownership and Interest in Mobile Apps to Monitor Symptoms of Mental Health Conditions: A Survey in Four Geographically Distinct PsychiatricClinics. JMIR Ment Heal. 2014;1(1):e5. doi:10.2196/mental.4004
• Torous J, Roberts L. Needed innovation in digital health and smartphone applications for mental health: Transparency andtrust. JAMA Psychiatry. 2017;74(5):437-438.doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry. 2017.0262

Questions?

Please contact Noy
[email protected]