Mobile CBT for Middle Aged and Older Adults

This study aims to assess a mobile app called MAYA for use in middle-aged and older adults with anxiety or mood disorders. The MAYA app is designed to teach coping skills for anxiety and depression that are drawn from cognitive behavioral therapy. Participants will be asked to use the app for at least two days a week, 20 minutes on each day, for six weeks. Participants will have weekly check-ins as well as longer assessments at the beginning of the study, week 3, week 6 (end of treatment), and week 12 (follow up). During assessments, participants will answer brief questionnaires designed to assess their symptoms and impressions of the app. The main hypotheses of the study are that participants will complete most of the assigned sessions and that they will rate their impressions of the app highly. The secondary hypotheses are that symptoms of depression and anxiety will decrease with use of the MAYA app.

Inclusion Criteria:Age 40 or olderPrimary diagnosis of an anxiety or depressive disorder as determined by a clinical severity rating score of 4 or greater on the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule (ADIS).Mini Mental Status Exam (MMSE) no more than 1 SD below the mean score for patient's age and education. If the remote version of the MMSE is used (e.g. during an evaluation on Zoom), the remote MMSE score will be converted to a standard MMSE score.Exclusion Criteria:Lifetime diagnosis of a bipolar or psychotic disorder.Currently in cognitive behavior therapy.Change in dose of a psychiatric medication in the past 12 weeks.Initiation of psychotherapy in the past 12 weeks.Intent or plan to attempt suicide.