“I think that [digital mental health] was something that added, added some weight to what I was talking about [in sessions]… you’re trying to cover so many things, quite often in that 50 minute session, that to give that sort of idea to go away and look at that, to consolidate some of that… or look at it in a different way [does help] because you don’t quite know what people do take away from the conversation that you’re having.”

We’re back in 2024 with a brand-new season of Digital Mental Health Musings. In our first episode, respected child and adolescent psychologist Dr Lyn O’Grady talks about her experience using digital mental health with clients and their families. She shares her tips on when to introduce digital tools and services, what apps to start with, how to help clients get the most out of evidence-based products in sessions and on their own between sessions, and how to be authentic about the digital tools you recommend.

From trialling sleep, mood tracker and mindfulness apps herself to build up her own personal experience of success using digital mental health, to working through modules like the BRAVE Program in session with clients, Dr O’Grady says that being able to authentically recommend and vouch for a handful of products was key to feeling confident about working with digital mental health.

For Dr O’Grady, apps that target different factors of wellbeing – like Sleep Ninja, and the meditation app Smiling Mind – can help clients make real gains in between sessions.

“Sleep, for instance, is a pretty big issue across the board and something we’re recognising as really important – you can’t really think about mental health without thinking about sleep,” she says, adding that introducing clients to an evidence-based sleep app can help consolidate and add weight to sleep hygiene content discussed in face-to-face sessions.

And while being familiar with a handful of good quality resources is a great place to start, Dr O’Grady says exercising clinical judgement to determine when in a client’s journey to introduce digital tools plays a significant role in the success of the intervention.

“I worry that if you give an app to start with too soon it might be a bit dismissive – we might have some work to do first,” she says adding that while some clients might be keen to try something new others might need more scaffolding. Describing two cases with very different approaches to digital mental health, Dr O’Grady explains that being flexible with how and when to introduce digital products can help to tailor and personalise digital interventions allowing clinicians to meet clients wherever they are along their therapeutic journey.

Who is Dr Lyn O’Grady?

Dr Lyn O’Grady is a Community Psychologist with a particular interest in the mental health and wellbeing of children and young people. She is currently working in private practice in Melbourne and is a Psychology Board Approved Supervisor. She has previously worked in the community, education and health sectors, including as a school psychologist and National Manager for the KidsMatter project with the Australian Psychological Society. She is also an author of “Keeping our Kids Alive, Parenting a Suicidal Young Person”.

Check out some of the resources we discussed in this episode:

Smiling Mind: https://www.smilingmind.com.au/

Sleep Ninja: https://www.blackdoginstitute.org.au/resources-support/digital-tools-apps/sleep-ninja/

BiteBack: https://www.biteback.org.au/

The BRAVE Program: https://brave4you.psy.uq.edu.au/

ReachOut: https://au.reachout.com/

Black Dog Institute Health Professional Resource and Education Hub: https://cop.learning.blackdoginstitute.org.au/#/public-dashboard

eMHPrac Directory: https://www.emhprac.org.au/directory/

Head to Health: https://www.headtohealth.gov.au/

WellMob: https://wellmob.org.au/

Listen to the full conversation below. You can also access Digital Mental Health Musings on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, and Deezer.

Read the Episode Transcript