Smartphone support to improve social connections for people with serious mental illness
Context-Aware Mobile Intervention for Social Recovery in Serious Mental Illness
This project offers brief in-person therapy plus a smartphone app that uses context-triggered prompts and phone coaching to help people with serious mental illness feel less isolated and reconnect socially.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of California, San Diego NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (La Jolla, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11286798 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would attend a few brief in-person psychotherapy sessions and use a smartphone app that senses context (like being home alone or after a conversation) to send tailored support and exposure exercises. The app runs in the background and delivers prompts based on GPS and conversation-sensing data, while a coach checks in by phone. The approach targets anxious avoidance, defeatist beliefs about social interaction, and social anhedonia to help you re-engage with others. Researchers will combine mobile data, self-reports, and therapist feedback to track changes in social activity and functioning over time.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Ideal candidates are adults with a diagnosed serious mental illness who experience social isolation or difficulty connecting with others and are willing and able to use a smartphone app and participate in brief in-person sessions and phone coaching.
Not a fit: People without access to a compatible smartphone, with severe cognitive impairments that prevent app use, or whose primary needs are unrelated to social isolation may not benefit from this program.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could reduce social isolation and improve everyday social functioning for people with serious mental illness.
How similar studies have performed: Earlier blended mobile therapy work has shown promise for strengthening and shortening cognitive behavioral treatment, but sensor-triggered, context-aware interventions remain relatively new and are still being tested.
Where this research is happening
La Jolla, United States
- University of California, San Diego — La Jolla, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Granholm, Eric L — University of California, San Diego
- Study coordinator: Granholm, Eric L
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.