&You: Design of a Sensor-Based Wearable Device for Use in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapy treatment that trains an individual to adjust negative patterns of thinking and behavior associated with their disorder. In this paper, we present &You, a low-cost nonintrusive wearable device for
- PDF / 360,610 Bytes
- 10 Pages / 439.37 x 666.142 pts Page_size
- 71 Downloads / 159 Views
Abstract Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapy treatment that trains an individual to adjust negative patterns of thinking and behavior associated with their disorder. In this paper, we present &You, a low-cost nonintrusive wearable device for use in CBT to assist patients with anxiety disorders. Our device reinforces habit forming processes by passively detecting measurable stress symptoms and notifying the user before a stimulus elicits a severe anxiety attack. Notifications are delivered as a series of brief vibrating pulses that can be stopped by tapping the device, which is strategically placed at the nape of the user’s neck. The gesture of deactivating the notification forces the wearer into a body position that naturally expands their chest and increases lung capacity, which directly calms the user and disrupts the user’s negative thought pattern. Keywords Wearable devices design
Cognitive
behavioral therapy
Medical device
1 Introduction In recent years, the topic of mental health has gained considerable attention in the research community. Studies by the World Health Organization have reported substantial increases in the occurrence of mental disorders worldwide [1], which in A. McEuen J. Proffitt J.D. Camba (&) E. Kwon Gerald D. Hines College of Architecture and Design, University of Houston, TX 4200 Elgin St., Houston, TX 77204, USA e-mail: [email protected] A. McEuen e-mail: [email protected] J. Proffitt e-mail: jdproffi[email protected] E. Kwon e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 V.G. Duffy and N. Lightner (eds.), Advances in Human Factors and Ergonomics in Healthcare, Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing 482, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-41652-6_24
251
252
A. McEuen et al.
many cases can have tragic consequences not only for the affected individuals, but also for their families, communities, and society in general [2]. In some instances, mental disorders can have a greater impact on quality of life than certain chronic medical disorders [3]. The development and delivery of effective treatments, therapies, and medication for mental illnesses can often be hindered by social stigma, high costs, and difficulties in adhering to treatment and/or accessing mental healthcare services [4, 5]. For this reason, researchers are now beginning to study how the fields of computer technology, engineering, and human-computer interaction can contribute to facilitate access to and improve the outcomes of therapeutic treatment [6]. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a well-established and effective treatment applicable to an increasing number of psychological disorders including but not limited to, general anxiety disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder [7, 8]. CBT is a psychotherapy treatment that trains individuals to adjust negative patterns of thinking and behavior associated with their disorder. In this context, recent advances in computer and information technology are creating new opportunities for supporting CBT and other
Data Loading...
