Using smartphones apps in psychotherapy: experiences with PTSD, OCD and panic disorder patients

Abstract

Vincent Van Gogh Hospital (VVG Hospital, Marchienne-au-Pont, Belgium) is the psychiatric department of CHU de Charleroi. The department is well-known to be a reference centre in the treatment of anxiety disorders, with a cognitive behavioural approach. The VVG psychiatric hospital environment has a large panel of therapeutic programmes (group therapies). These programmes are built on specific diagnosis of anxiety disorders (post traumatic stress disorder-PTSD, obsessive compulsive disorder-OCD, panic disorder with agoraphobia ...). Group therapy occurs one to two days a week. During these therapeutical days patients have access to various therapeutical methods (like relaxation, cognitive restructuring, "in vivo" exposure, "in virtuo" exposure, mindfulness, possibility of individual sessions...) The department developed a Virtual Reality centre in 2013, and this technology is more and more used in our therapy sessions. Recently we started using lighter material, like smartphones applications. The purpose of our poster is to explore the possibilities of this new material, used in the context of mental health.