JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The global demand for mental health services has significantly increased over the past decade, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital resources, particularly smartphone apps, offer a flexible and scalable means of addressing the research-to-practice gap in mental health care. Clinicians play a crucial role in integrating these apps into mental health care, although practitioner guided digital interventions have traditionally been considered more effective than stand-alone apps.

Objective:

This scoping review explores mental health practitioners' perspectives on integrating smartphone apps into clinical practice. We ask, “What is known about how mental health practitioners view the integration of smartphone apps into their practice?” Further, this scoping review explored the factors that might influence integration of smartphone apps into practice such as practitioner and client characteristics, app design and functionality and practitioner views.

Methods:

A systematic search of three databases yielded 38 studies published between 2018-2025, involving 1,894 practitioners across various mental health disciplines, most predominantly psychologists and psychiatrists. Data were collected on practitioner and client characteristics, app functionality, and factors deemed important or influencing practitioners’ opinions about app integration.

Results:

The included studies were most likely to explore use of apps outside the clinical session, and focussed on self-management apps for mental health monitoring and tracking, and for collecting data from the patient. Fewer studies explored use of apps within session, or practitioner-guided apps. Practitioners prioritized app features aligned with the American Psychological Association's evaluation criteria, with practitioners prioritising engagement and interoperability, but also noted the importance of training and resourcing to support integration.

Conclusions:

While practitioners recognise the potential of apps in mental health care, integration into clinical practice remains limited. The review highlights the need for further research on practical implementation, clinical effectiveness, and practitioner training to facilitate the transition from potential to actual use of apps in mental health care settings. Recommendations include evaluating effectiveness of app integration through experimental studies and developing training modules to develop practitioners' digital competencies and confidence in app utilization.