Have you ever said “I tend to overthink everything?” Most of us fall victim to some degree of overthinking. We search for more and more information, we focus on the details while losing sight of the big picture or we “choke” under pressure even when we are engaged in doing something we know we are good at.
SrA Pruitt slumps in the chair in her primary care provider’s exam room. She’s frustrated she hasn’t slept much in the past five months since her promotion and just wants a magic bullet to help her fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. She clearly did not expect her provider to ask her to see me; she crosses her arms and says bitterly “…but I’ve already tried all those things that are supposed to make my sleep better.”
Electronic Health (eHealth) has long been integrated into the mental health field allowing for healthcare practices supported by electronic processes or communication. One type of eHealth is Mobile Health (or mHealth) interventions, which refers to the use of mobile devices for a number of activities that could include Internet access or searches, text messaging as well as smart phone applications that could be used within a mental health context. Although research remains limited, attention to mobile apps has been rapidly growing due to the increased use of technology in the mental health field. Mobile mental health support can be very simple but effective, providing users with convenience, anonymity, consistency and round-the-clock service. Often, technology is utilized to complement traditional therapy rather than replace it.
As a Deployment Behavioral Health Psychologist with the Center for Deployment Psychology, one of my specific areas of interest is that of suicide. I am fortunate enough to be able to teach pre-doctoral interns and civilian mental health providers about suicide prevalence, theory, associated risk and protective factors, as well as treatment. In addition, I work in a military treatment facility, so I see patients and supervise interns with their caseloads.
I am Dr. Jenna Ermold from the Center for Deployment Psychology and I’m here today with Dr. Christopher Keonig, who is a health communications scientist with San Francisco State University and a health services researcher at the San Francisco VA healthcare system. Dr. Keonig is one of the panelists on our Military Culture in Primary Care Roundtable. I wanted to have an additional conversation with him today about some of the research that he does.