Feasibility and Acceptability of Augmenting Therapy for Youth with Automated Text Messaging During COVID-19

ABSTRACT Sheltering-in-place (SIP) was a crucial intervention for managing the COVID-19 pandemic and may be implemented in future public health crises but, unfortunately, had vast unintended mental health consequences. Interventions to decrease depression and anxiety often rely on creating routines with multiple sources of positive reinforcement and social connectedness. SIP obliterated daily routines and thus, may have led to increased isolation, depression, and anxiety. Interventions to support effective coping may help prevent and manage these outcomes. An automated text messaging intervention encouraging the use of evidence-based skills reinforced during therapy is a promising solution. The current manuscript describes our pilot study of Healthy@Home: an empirically based text intervention augmenting youth mental health services implemented during the initial months of COVID-19 SIP. We discuss the advantages and challenges of implementing a text intervention and present findings on engagement and acceptability from 14 adolescents over the course of participation in a 60-day pilot text-messaging intervention study.