Tranquility Online's Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioural Therapy Platform Validated in Journal of Medical Internet Research Publication

Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - February 9, 2022) - Tranquility Online (Tranquility) received clinical validation in an evaluation study authored by Victoria C. Patterson, Meghan A. Rossi, Dr. Lori Wozney and Dr. Alissa Pencer, Tranquility's Co-Founder and Senior Scientific Director, and Senior Instructor at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

https://formative.jmir.org/2022/2/e33374/

The research, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR) — Formative Research, demonstrated Tranquility's strong fidelity to traditional CBT. Overall, participants highly rated Tranquility's usability and indicated satisfaction with the program. CBT experts provided high ratings for Tranquility's treatment adherence to CBT, and the co-design adaption process resulted in several improvements to Tranquility.

"At Tranquility, co-design has always been at the heart of what we do," said Dr. Pencer. "Having professional experts in the field and people with lived experience provide us with positive and valuable feedback ensures individuals completing the Tranquility program are getting the best evidence-based, client-focused care possible."

According to the evaluation, Tranquility's high adherence to core CBT skills compared favourably to other mental health applications analyzed in a recent study. It was noted that Tranquility's high ratings were not a surprise, given the Tranquility program development team included Dr. Pencer, a licensed clinical psychologist with extensive expertise in CBT.

"From day one, knowing that I'm not a clinician myself, I wanted our service to be backed by evidence-based principles," noted Tranquility Co-Founder Joel Muise. "Having a co-designed process using knowledge from clinicians, product designers and people with lived-experience have proven to be the right approach for our service."

The evaluation's findings also highlighted the importance of regular, expert evaluations of mental health applications. The study noted that only 45% of mental health apps had expert involvement (e.g. health professionals) during the app development process — with most apps showing low fidelity to CBT principles. The importance of including health professionals and stakeholders in the design process is paramount.

"As individuals, employers and governments consider iCBT and other digital mental health solutions, it's important those applications are clinically-validated," said Joe Blomeley, Executive Vice President, Mental Health for the GSC group of companies. "Health professionals must be part of the application's design and development process, and health outcomes must be regularly tracked and evaluated to determine effectiveness."

For more information:

Tranquility contact:
Sarah Mortimer, Marketing Manager
647-518-7106
sarah@inkblottherapy.com

GSC contact:
Deb Quinn, SPPR
647.985.7162
debquinn@sppublicrelations.com

About Tranquility Online

Founded in 2017 in Halifax, Nova Scotia by Joel Muise, a former chartered financial analyst, and Dr. Alissa Pencer, a Clinical Psychologist and Senior Instructor with Dalhousie University, Tranquility is an online platform that uses the cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to help people with anxiety and depression. The platform uses digital coaching to improve client adherence and create better mental health outcomes. Mr. Muise's own experience with anxiety led him to create Tranquility — with the objective of reducing wait times for Canadians and access to care. Tranquility is a graduate of Halifax-based accelerator Volta and a proud recipient of grants from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Canadian Institute for Health Research.

Tranquility was acquired by Green Shield Holdings in July 2021 and recently integrated with Inkblot Therapy.

About Green Shield Canada (GSC)

GSC is Canada's fourth-largest health and dental benefits provider, and is uniquely structured as a social enterprise with the purpose of making it easier for people to live their healthiest lives. From coast-to-coast, our service delivery includes drug, dental, extended health care, vision, hospital, and travel benefits for groups and individuals, as well as administration and benefits management services. Supported by outcomes-based sustainability strategies, advanced technology, and exceptional customer service, GSC creates innovative programs for more than four million plan participants nationwide, as part of our ongoing commitment to fostering Better Health for All Canadians.

About Green Shield Holdings Inc.

Part of the Green Shield Canada (GSC) group of companies, Green Shield Holdings Inc. is the primary company used to house subsidiaries.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/113261