Research shows promising results for Vida app in decreasing anxiety and depression

While on average participants lowered their anxiety and depression, a fraction of the original participants filled in the 9-month follow up. New research has emerged that a digital mental health program may help patients decrease anxiety and depression.

The study, published yesterday morning in JMIR, gave patients with moderate to severe depression the Vida Health app, which used cognitive behavioral therapy and one-on-one therapist counseling. Scientists saw the rates of anxiety and depression decrease during the program and stay steady for months after.

“The results suggest that digital interventions can support sustained and clinically meaningful improvements in depression and anxiety,” authors of the study wrote. “Furthermore, it appears that strong initial digital mental health intervention engagement may facilitate this effect. However, the study was limited by postintervention participant attrition as well as the retrospective observational study design.”