BACKGROUND: The widespread use of smartphones makes effective therapies such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) potentially accessible to large numbers of people. AIMS: This paper reports the usage data of the first trial of Catch It, a new CBT smartphone app. METHOD: Uptake and usage rates, fidelity of user responses to CBT principles, and impact on reported negative and positive moods were assessed. RESULTS: A relatively modest proportion of people chose to download the app. Once used, the app tended to be used more than once, and 84% of the user-generated content was consistent with the basic concepts of CBT. There were statistically significant reductions in negative mood intensity and increases in positive mood intensity. CONCLUSIONS: Smartphone apps have potential beneficial effects in mental health through the application of basic CBT principles. More research with randomised controlled trial designs should be conducted. DECLARATION OF INTEREST: None. COPYRIGHT AND USAGE: © The Royal College of Psychiatrists 2016. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Non-Commercial, No Derivatives (CC BY-NC-ND) licence.
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