Consumer Report has reviewed 7 mental health related apps and made a number of recommendations for providers of app-based mental health counseling. Although the recommendations are focused on app providers and developers, the issues are important for clients and psychologists to consider when clients use them.

The full report is available at https://advocacy.consumerreports.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/CR_mentalhealth_full-report_VF.pdf

The recommendations:

1. Clearly explain procedures used for de-identification of data used for research. Identifiable data should not be shared except at the consumer’s direction.
2. Provide clear and contextually-appropriate explanations of how user-provided data will be used, so users are aware of potential consequences before they share.
3. Adhere to platform guidelines that are in place to protect people’s privacy.
4. Transparently disclose the service providers that receive data when people use your apps

The American Psychological Association (APA) has appointed an Ethics Code Task Force “…charged with analyzing and evaluating the American Psychological Associations “Ethical principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct and recommending revisions as appropriate.”  The last major review and revisions to the APA’s Ethical Code was 15 years ago.  The task force is composed of 10 psychologists and one nonpsychologist public member.  Linda Campbell, Ph.D. is the chair and Mark Leach, Ph.D. the vice chair. Recommended changes will be made available for public comment and recommendations made to the APA Ethics Committee.  The APA Council of Representatives will make the final decisions regarding any changes.

News release excerpts:

One year after the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, many adults report undesired changes to their weight, increased drinking and other negative behavior changes that may be related to an inability to cope with prolonged stress, according to the American Psychological Association’s latest Stress in America^TM poll. 

The majority of essential workers (54%), such as health care workers and people who work in law enforcement, said they have relied on a lot of unhealthy habits to get them through the pandemic. Nearly 3 in 10 (29%) said their mental health has worsened, while 3 in 4 (75%) said they could have used more emotional support than they received since the pandemic began. Essential workers were more than twice as likely as adults who are not essential workers to have received treatment from a mental health professional (34% vs. 12%) and to have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder since the coronavirus pandemic started (25% vs. 9%).

Overall, Americans are hesitant about the future, regardless of vaccination status. Nearly half of adults (49%) said they feel uneasy about adjusting to in-person interaction once the pandemic ends. Adults who received a COVID-19 vaccine were just as likely as those who had not received a vaccine to say this (48% vs. 49%, respectively).

The report is available at www.stressinamerica.org

The National Center for Health Statistics in a December 2020 report (NCHS Data Brief No. 394) reports on the continued increasing deaths from drug overdoses. The statistics include information on trends from 1999 through 2019 by sex and age group and specific types of drugs involved (i.e. opioids, stimulants).  The figure below demonstrates the 20-year trend:

** This report can be downloaded from https://www/cdc/gov/nchs/products/index.htm

The PSYPACT bill (SB2 has passed both the House and Senate in the Ohio legislature and is expected to be signed into law by the Governor in the near future.  Ohio will then join 15 states and the District of Columbia that are already members of the Interjurisdictional Psychology Compact (PSYPACT).  PSYPACT will be effective in two other states later this year.  Information about PSYPACT can be found at https://www.psypact.org/