Title
Momentary effects of Temstem, an app for voice-hearing individuals: Results from naturalistic data from 1048 users
Author
Jongeneel, Alyssa (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Parnassia Psychiatric Institute)
Libedinsky, Ilan (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
Reinbergen, Anouk (Parnassia Psychiatric Institute)
Tromp, N. (TU Delft Design Aesthetics) 
Delespaul, Philippe (Universiteit Maastricht; Mondriaan Mental Health Trust)
Riper, Heleen (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; GGZ InGeest Specialized Mental Health Care, Amsterdam)
van der Gaag, Mark (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam)
van den Berg, D.A. (TU Delft Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering; Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam; Parnassia Psychiatric Institute)
Faculty
Mechanical, Maritime and Materials Engineering
Date
2022
Abstract
Background: Temstem is a mobile application developed in cooperation with voice-hearing persons to help them cope with distressing voices. After psychoeducation about voice hearing, Temstem offers two functions: Silencing is a mode designed to inhibit voice activity through the processing of incompatible language; the Challenging mode introduces dual tasking (as used in eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing) designed to reduce the emotionality and vividness of a voice memory. Two different language games, Lingo Tapper and Word Link, are provided, containing both functions. This study aimed to explore the momentary effects of Temstem on voice-hearing distress, emotionality and vividness in a naturalistic sample of voice-hearing app users. Method: Temstem is freely available in the Netherlands. We collected data through the app from 1048 individual users who had given informed consent for the study. We assessed changes in pre- and post-session scores on distress, emotionality and vividness, and we evaluated differences in outcomes between the games and whether effects remained stable over multiple sessions. Results: Users had been hearing voices for an average of 4.95 years; 79 % had been informed about Temstem by a mental health therapist or coach. After a Silencing session, voice-hearing distress was reduced, t(958) = 27.12, p < .001, d = 0.49; the degree of reduction remained stable after repeated use, F(1, 7905.57) = 1.91, p = .167. After a Challenging session, emotionality, t(651) = 23.16, p < .001, d = 0.74, and the vividness of voice memories were reduced, t(651) = 22.20, p < .001, d = 0.71; both diminished slightly with frequent use, F(1, 2222.86) = 7.21, p < .05; F(1, 2289.92) = 4.25, p < .05. In comparison with Lingo Tapper, larger reductions were seen for a Word Link game: emotionality t(226) = 2.88, p < .005, d = 0.21; vividness t(226) = 2.29, p < .05, d = 0.17. Discussion: In this heterogeneous sample of voice-hearing individuals, Temstem appeared to be a promising coping tool; momentary voice-hearing distress and the emotionality and vividness of voice statements were reduced after a Temstem session. Despite important limitations and the need for more research, naturalistic studies of user app data may yield interesting and generalisable findings.
Subject
App
Auditory verbal hallucinations
eHealth
Naturalistic data
User data
Voice hearing
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:1e5abc23-0dd4-4dcc-87f5-528c21243928
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.invent.2022.100580
ISSN
2214-7829
Source
Internet Interventions, 30
Part of collection
Institutional Repository
Document type
journal article
Rights
© 2022 Alyssa Jongeneel, Ilan Libedinsky, Anouk Reinbergen, N. Tromp, Philippe Delespaul, Heleen Riper, Mark van der Gaag, D.A. van den Berg