• Free Resources
    • Blog Posts
    • Community Resources
    • Expert Content
    • FAQ
    • Licensed Clinicians
    • Mental Health Resources
  • Programs & Services
    • AFK Rooms
    • Ambassadors
    • Industry Consulting & Workshops
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Branding
    • Governance
    • Our Team
    • Panel Appearances
    • Recent Press
  • Support Us
    • Merch
    • Donate
    • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Merch
Take This Logo
  • Free Resources
    • Blog Posts
    • Community Resources
    • Expert Content
    • FAQ
    • Licensed Clinicians
    • Mental Health Resources
  • Programs & Services
    • AFK Rooms
    • Ambassadors
    • Industry Consulting & Workshops
    • Events
  • About Us
    • Branding
    • Governance
    • Our Team
    • Panel Appearances
    • Recent Press
  • Support Us
    • Merch
    • Donate
    • Newsletter
DonateMerch
Menu

Upcoming App Makes Quitting Easier for Smokers with Severe Mental Health Issues

By Nissa Campbell · March 18th, 2016 · Research


 
In 2014, a CDC survey found that about 17 percent of Americans smoke tobacco. For people with schizophrenia, that number is much higher – at least 60 percent according to most studies, and possibly as high as 88 percent. That’s quite the gap.

Given those numbers, it’s not surprising that people with schizophrenia are also less likely to quit smoking successfully. There are many reasons for that, both social and physiological, and not all of them have simple solutions. But with help from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, one company has set out to make the process as easy as possible with the help of a little technology.

Fast Company Design has the story of how Smashing Ideas, Seattle-based digital design firm, came together with psychiatrist Roger Vilardaga to create an app that would make quitting easier for people with severe mental health issues like schizophrenia. This isn’t just a story of gamification–Smashing Ideas looked at all the potential pain points in the app for users with severe mental illnesses and designed around them. This included accounting for tremors, avoiding cognitive overload, and illustrating abstract concepts.

The goal of Learn to Quit is to help patients quit smoking using Acceptance Commitment Therapy, a therapeutic technique that teaches acceptance and mindfulness through a series of exercises. Although they are often successful in treating addiction, anxiety, and depression, these concepts are largely abstract—which can be particularly difficult for the severely mentally ill to grasp through words alone.

“In his research, [Vilardaga] had found that illustration and visuals were really important to getting patients to understand these abstract ideas,” says Chad Otis, executive creative director at Smashing Ideas. “So he’d come up with about 300 Post-its worth of simple stick drawings to explain the concepts, which we worked to bring to life.”

 

Each hurdle that might make the app less useful for its target audience was treated with similar care and attention. Making the app accessible for people with tremors required doing away with small interface elements, for example. The result is an app that should be much friendlier to its audience, and incidentally to others with similar physical symptoms.

Learn to Quit is heading into clinical trials soon, and will hopefully be available to the public in the not-too-distant future.

[Fast Company]

Share This:

View related posts: apps, health, schizophrenia, smoking
  • Blog
    • Anxiety
    • COVID
    • Depression
    • Entertainment
    • Featured
    • Friend
    • Helping Friends
    • Helping Yourself
    • News
    • Other Issues
    • PTSD
    • Research
    • Self Care
    • Social Skills
    • Stigma
    • Stories
    • Suicide
    • Take This
    • Therapy
    • Video Games
Take This Logo

9805 NE 116th St
Suite 7411
Kirkland, WA 98034

Take This, Inc. 2021
EIN: 46-3882735

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Twitch
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Take This is a mental health nonprofit decreasing stigma and increasing support for mental health in games.

We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit mental health organization providing comprehensive resources and support that is tailored for the unique needs of the game development community and embraces the diverse cultures and issues of the game community. We combine clinical best practice with a love of all things gamer, providing a safe, accepting space for gamers and developers. We work in a spirit of partnership with other organizations addressing these issues among game enthusiasts, streamers, and creators.

Find ResourcesDonate
  • Recent Press
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
©2022 Take This