Webinar
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February 3, 2024

Conversations with Colin: How digital therapeutics fit into the standard of care in mental health

Professor Colin Espie wears many hats: Co-Founder of Big Health, Oxford University Professor of Sleep Medicine, and world-renowned clinical psychologist. With over 40 years of experience and upwards of 300 published clinical papers, Professor Espie’s superpower is taking complex mental health topics and distilling them in an engaging, empathetic storytelling-like style that anyone can understand. As we continue to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health is more complex than ever. In the Conversations with Colin series, the Professor will share his perspective on how the mental health crisis impacts us both individually and globally, and how we can take steps towards access to first-line mental health treatments for all.

In the second part of the series, Professor Colin Espie speaks with executive producer and host of WTF Health Jessica DaMassa, to discuss the shortcomings of traditional models of care. Human-delivered therapy, even when enabled by technology, is insufficient to meet the level of need, resulting in long wait times, provider shortages, and rising costs. The only available treatment option for most people is mental health medications, but as the guidelines have long stated, patients should have access to cognitive behavioral therapy as first-line treatments for mental health. Yet, until now, it’s been impossible to fulfill that recommendation. Listen to the full conversation to learn more!

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During the COVID-19 public health emergency, Sleepio and Daylight are being made available as treatments for insomnia disorder and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), respectively, without a prescription. Sleepio and Daylight have not been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of insomnia disorder and GAD, respectively.

1. Qaseem, A., Kansagara, D., Forciea, M. A., Cooke, M., & Denberg, T. D. (2016). Management of chronic insomnia disorder in adults: a clinical practice guideline from the American College of Physicians. Annals of Internal Medicine, 165(2), 125-133.2. Riemann, D., Baglioni, C., Bassetti, C., Bjorvatn, B., Dolenc Groselj, L., Ellis, J. G., … & Spiegelhalder, K. (2017). European guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of insomnia. Journal of Sleep Research, 26(6), 675-700.3. Wilson, S., Anderson, K., Baldwin, D., Dijk, D. J., Espie, A., Espie, C., … & Sharpley, A. (2019). British Association for Psychopharmacology consensus statement on evidence-based treatment of insomnia, parasomnias and circadian rhythm disorders: an update. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 33(8), 923-947.4. King’s Technology Evaluation Centre. (2017, November 9). Overview: Health app: SLEEPIO for adults with poor Sleep: Advice. NICE. https://www.nice.org.uk/advice/mib129.5. Espie, C. A., Kyle, S. D., Williams, C., Ong, J. C., Douglas, N. J., Hames, P., & Brown, J. S. (2012). A randomized, placebo-controlled trial of online cognitive behavioral therapy for chronic insomnia disorder delivered via an automated media-rich web application. Sleep, 35(6), 769-781.6. Carl, J. R., Miller, C. B., Henry, A. L., Davis, M. L., Stott, R., Smits, J. A., … & Espie, C. A. (2020). Efficacy of digital cognitive behavioral therapy for moderate‐to‐severe symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder: A randomized controlled trial. Depression and Anxiety, 37(12), 1168-1178.

DOC-3046 Effective 11/2023