Mini Workshop 10 - Teens and Screens: Cognitive Behavioral Interventions That Promote Digital and Mental Wellbeing

Over a decade of research has explored relationships between social media use and mental health in adolescents; however, relevant evidence-based interventions are lacking. Researchers have identified mediators (e.g., social comparison, negative feedback, risky self-presentation) that should be targeted by interventions. Unfortunately, some existing treatments rely on abstinence-based models (e.g., “digital detox”), which may ostracize teens, neglect benefits of social media use, and fail to provide long-term skill acquisition. Research shows that harm reduction and strengths-based approaches are often more effective. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a gold-standard treatment that provides a starting point. This workshop will teach clinicians how to utilize CBT tools to educate and empower teens to better understand and manage their tech habits.

Our team created a CBT-based intervention to provide psychoeducation and skills training to teens to minimize risks and maximize benefits of social media use, in both online and offline contexts. We will begin by discussing assessment of adolescents’ social media use as it relates to current symptomatology and emotion regulation. Using role play and interactive teaching, we will demonstrate core intervention components and their application for social media use, including assessment, psychoeducation, mindfulness, values clarification, cognitive restructuring, and behavioral activation in the context of “fear of missing out” (FOMO), mental health misinformation, artificial intelligence, unrealistic body image standards, and more. Parenting interventions will also be covered, including empowering parents to understand teen tech use and set appropriate limits. Special attention will be paid to individual differences and the optimization of the interventions for marginalized youth, as well as safety considerations. Interactive activities and role plays will be used to demonstrate concepts. We will also present preliminary data on the feasibility and acceptability of our treatment model in an adolescent partial hospital program.This workshop will be accessible to clinicians of diverse training backgrounds and interventions can be applied across multiple levels of care.

Recommended Reading 1: Plackett, R., Blyth, A., & Schartau, P. (2023). The impact of social media use interventions on mental well-being: systematic review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e44922.

Recommended Reading 2: Harness, J., Domoff, S. E., & Rollings, H. (2023). Social media use and youth mental health: intervention-focused future directions. Current Psychiatry Reports, 25(12), 865-871.

Recommended Reading 3: Berger, M. N., Taba, M., Marino, J. L., Lim, M. S., & Skinner, S. R. (2022). Social media use and health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth: Systematic review. Journal of medical Internet research, 24(9), e38449.