Health Technology/clinical-trials

Phase II Pilot Trial: AI-Supported Smartphone Psychotherapy vs Waitlist in Social Anxiety Disorder — Digital Mental Health Innovation

247 Health News Editorial

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17 Apr 2026

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4 min read

·clinical-trials

Swedish researchers are testing AI-supported smartphone psychotherapy for social anxiety disorder in a three-arm pilot trial. The study compares psychodynamic and CBT approaches delivered via smartphone apps against waitlist control, potentially revolutionising accessible mental health treatment.

Originally reported by ClinicalTrials.gov

References

  1. 1.Stockholm University. (2024). Smartphone-Based Treatments for Social Anxiety With Artificial Intelligence Support: A Three-Arm Randomized Controlled Pilot Study. ClinicalTrials.gov. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07533812
  2. 2.Stein, M. B., & Stein, D. J. (2008). Social anxiety disorder. The Lancet, 371(9618), 1115-1125. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)60488-2
  3. 3.Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Merikangas, K. R., & Walters, E. E. (2005). Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Archives of General Psychiatry, 62(6), 593-602. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.593
  4. 4.Mayo-Wilson, E., Dias, S., Mavranezouli, I., Kew, K., Clark, D. M., Ades, A. E., & Pilling, S. (2014). Psychological and pharmacological interventions for social anxiety disorder in adults: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 1(5), 368-376. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(14)70329-3
  5. 5.Thornicroft, G., Chatterji, S., Evans-Lacko, S., Gruber, M., Sampson, N., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., ... & Kessler, R. C. (2017). Undertreatment of people with major depressive disorder in 21 countries. British Journal of Psychiatry, 210(2), 119-124. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.bp.116.188078
  6. 6.Firth, J., Torous, J., Nicholas, J., Carney, R., Pratap, A., Rosenbaum, S., & Sarris, J. (2017). The efficacy of smartphone-based mental health interventions for depressive symptoms: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. World Psychiatry, 16(3), 287-298. https://doi.org/10.1002/wps.20472
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247 Health News Editorial

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