Digital Mental Health - the Future of Managing Anxiety and Depression with Dr. Bethany Teachman
04/24/25 • 71 min
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: [email protected]
- 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: [email protected]
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
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: [email protected]
- 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: [email protected]
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
Previous Episode
Improving Rural Health: Medical Devices That Increase Health Access With Dr. Aileen Helsel
Can medical devices improve patient care in rural healthcare systems? In this episode, Dr. Aileen Helsel, Director of Innovation at Carilion Clinic, shares how her team of engineers works with Carilion’s clinical teams to develop new medical devices that solve unique challenges in rural settings.
Rural patients often travel long distances for care - making management of time sensitive emergencies and recurring visits for chronic conditions particularly challenging. Dr. Helsel highlights three projects: a wearable lymphedema therapy device, an early detection system for ventriculoperitoneal shunt failures, and a cardiac surgery arm positioning device. Each of these devices was conceptualized at the bedside (or in the operating room) and brought to life with the expertise and passion of a physician.
Dr. Helsel began her career as a research scientist at Washington State University before transitioning to technology transfer in the licensing and ventures team at WSU. She was always looking for a greater impact. Now, as Director of Innovation at Carilion Clinic, she partners with physicians, nurses, and therapists on the front lines to help solve their most pressing challenges. Aileen shares how her team collaborates with a human factors group and a simulation center to test prototypes in realistic settings. Dr. Helsel believes that solving targeted problems in rural healthcare can yield scalable solutions that benefit the broader medical community.
Love this podcast? Write to us with ideas, feedback, and guest recommendations at [email protected].
Follow Dr. Aileen Helsel on Social Media
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aileenhelsel/
Carilion Clinic: https://www.carilionclinic.org/
Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Alliance: https://rbia.tech/
Director & Host: Dasha Tyshlek, StratCraft, Inc. www.strat-craft.com
Executive Producer: David Chen, Managing Director & Instructor of Engineering Design, UVA
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 https://engineering.virginia.edu/centers-institutes/coulter-center-translational-research
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