The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has conditionally recommended digitally enabled therapies to treat anxiety and depression in adults.
The digitally enabled therapies are to address conditions such as PTSD and body dysmorphia, with each technology including support and involvement of an NHS Talking Therapies clinician, and using cognitive behavioural therapy techniques.
Eight digital therapies are currently conditionally recommended with further evidence being developed.
The technologies that were conditionally recommended include:
For body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), ‘Perspectives’ has been conditionally recommended, with support provided by a high intensity therapist trained in treating BDD.
To support generalised anxiety symptoms or unspecified anxiety disorder, ‘Beating the Blues’ and ‘Space from Anxiety’ (SilverCloud) have been recommended.
For post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ‘iCT-PTSD’ and ‘Spring’, and for social anxiety disorder, ‘iCT-SAD’ with support provided by a high intensity therapist who is trained in treating social anxiety disorder.
On depression, the committee conditionally recommended the use of three online CBT programmes; ‘Beating the Blues’, ‘Deprexis’ and ‘Space from Depression’ (Silvercloud).
NICE added that “the technologies must achieve regulatory approval prior to their NHS use. This will include Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) conformity approval from NHS England, CE or UKCA marking and compliance with the NHS Talking Therapies digitally enabled therapies (DET) assessment criteria.”
Mark Chapman, interim director of medical technology and digital evaluation at NICE, commented: “We want these new treatment options to be available for people to use as quickly as possible and we also want to make sure they are clinically effective and represent good value for the NHS. The additional evidence collected during this period will help us do that.
We also want to hear what people involved in this area think – both clinicians and the people who will be using these digital technologies. We know CBT can work well for many people and we know that digitally enabled technology can help the NHS get support to people faster.”
