How do we tackle the rising epidemic of anxiety with tools that actually scale? Why aren’t traditional therapy models enough? And how can digital technologies like mobile sensing and cognitive bias modification help close the treatment gap in mental health?
In this episode of Biomedical Frontiers, host Dasha Tyshlek sits down with Dr. Bethany Teachman, Professor of Psychology and Director of Clinical Training at the University of Virginia, to explore how digital mental health tools are being designed and tested to meet people where they are.
Dr. Teachman is the founder of MindTrails, a suite of app-based tools to help individuals reduce anxious thinking, and co-leads the UVA TYDE initiative (Thriving Youth in a Digital Environment). She brings a unique perspective as both a clinician and innovator developing tools rooted in science but built for the real world.
Topics Discussed:
- Why anxiety and depression are rising—and why therapy alone isn’t enough
- How mobile sensing and AI can detect anxiety through physiological, social, and environmental cues
- How MindTrails helps people shift negative thinking patterns
- What it takes to co-develop ethical and effective tech with engineers
- Challenges of building digital interventions people actually use
- The unique value a clinician brings to tech innovation
Resources Mentioned:
🔹 MindTrails: https://mindtrails.virginia.edu/science.html
🔹 UVA TYDE: https://tyde.virginia.edu/
🔹 Research Paper: Mobile Sensing and Anxiety Detection
🔹 Research Paper: CBM-I Digital Intervention Preprint
Follow Dr. Bethany Teachman:
- Lab Website: https://teachman.org
- Email: bat5x@virginia.edu
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethany-teachman-b78558236/
Follow Biomedical Frontiers for more:
📸 Instagram: @biomedicalfrontiers
🔗 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uvacoulter
📧 Reach us: biomedicalfrontiers@virginia.edu
Love this podcast? Write to us with feedback or guest recommendations!
Production Team:
Director & Host: Dasha Tyshlek, StratCraft, Inc. www.strat-craft.com
Executive Producer: David Chen, Managing Director & Instructor of Engineering Design
Senior Producer: Hannah Moore, Associate Director, UVA Coulter
Design Director: Carolyn Wagner, Inc. & Link: carolynwagnerinc.com
Produced on behalf of: Wallace H. Coulter Center for Translational Research at University of Virginia
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