Abstract
Authors
Zeynep Ozinci, M.D. (chair), Musa Yilanli, M.D., Caroline Nardi, M.D., Srinivasa Gokarakonda, Nihit Kumar, MBBS
Technology Use (TU) is prevalent especially in children and teenagers, and there is a growing need for better understanding and assessing its impact on patients’ lives and daily functioning. An increasing body of literature reveals the direct and indirect impact of TU, and addressing clinical concerns regarding TU associated with academic difficulties, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, behavior addictions and deficits in overall functioning. To maintain and improve the quality of mental health care, there is a need to explore the TU of our patients and its associations with psychiatric disorders, and also develop clinical skills on how to effectively ask the pertinent questions (social media use, browsing, gaming as well as the content, frequency, and duration of use per day, late night or early morning use, etc.) The application of new interview practices in clinical psychiatry is indeed necessary and has the potential to help with reduction in symptoms and increase in academic performance, social skills, empathy, compassion, resilience and well being.
Being familiar with TU in the digital age and practical guidelines will increase a clinician’s overall knowledge, confidence, and clinical skill set in conducting effective interviews with the patients to help them overcome the negative consequences and engage in healthier technology use; while maintaining a successful therapeutic alliance.
During our session, we will summarize the current evidence base on the effects of TU on behavior, attention, cognitive skills, academic performance, impulsivity, mood, and sleep. Participants will gain a better understanding of the impact of TU in patients’ lives and the importance of implementing techniques into practice to better evaluate their social skills and development as well as their interests, strengths, and challenges.
We will provide information on practical interviewing skills and assessment techniques to further obtain information about the patients’ use of technology, to observe their thought process, decision- making, impulsivity, and temperament among other aspects of the clinical presentation; at the same time build rapport and establish a therapeutic alliance during the interview.
The audience will also become familiar with popular videogames and social media sites being used by youth, understand their potential positive and negative impact, learn how to use this knowledge to help children and families, and feel comfortable integrating new interview skills into their practices. It will help the participants address the needs of the patients in order to provide comprehensive care to the children and adolescents and improve their wellbeing through a review of scientific findings and practical guidance. Participants will then be given a chance to contribute to the topic and discuss possible interventions during video clip presentations. And at the end of the session, the audience will be provided with reliable resources to further their learning.
Conference/Symposium/Course name, dates and location where the work was supposed to be presented:
2020 Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, April 25-29, 2020, Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA