Abstract
Background: In recent years, the use of ICTs to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of psychological intervention has proliferated, including the use of apps for mobile devices. Objective: To examine the availability of apps for the psychological treatment of emotional disorders. Method: a literature search of papers published since 2016 in the Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed databases was conducted. It was selected those articles that studied the functioning of an app in the adult population for psychological intervention in emotional disorders (anxiety disorders, depressive disorders, borderline personality disorder, somatoform and dissociative disorders). The selection of included studies was carried out by two reviewers, who resolved discrepancies by consensus. Results: Of 485 articles identified, 14 were selected for systematic review. Results are presented according to the emotional disorder targeted by the app. Conclusions: The availability of empirically validated apps for intervention in emotional disorders, although increasing in recent years, is still limited. However, there are promising results that point to the importance of continuing to develop and study the efficacy and effectiveness of the use of apps to enhance the quality and efficiency of psychological care.
Keywords: apps – transdiagnostic – psychological intervention – systematic review.
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