# A digital intervention to improve mental health and interpersonal resilience in young people who have experienced technology‐assisted sexual abuse: a feasibility clinical trial

## TL;DR

A digital mental health app called i-Minds was tested for young people who experienced technology-assisted sexual abuse, showing promise in improving mental health and resilience.

## Contribution

The study introduces a novel digital mental health intervention for TASA survivors and demonstrates its feasibility and acceptability.

## Key findings

- The i-Minds app showed signals of improvement in post-traumatic symptoms, resilience, and internalizing symptoms.
- Participants reported a positive experience using the app and increased motivation to address mental health issues.
- The trial successfully recruited and retained participants, indicating the feasibility of digital interventions for TASA.

## Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to conduct a feasibility trial of i‐Minds, a digital mental health intervention (DMHI) designed to improve mentalisation in young people (YP) who have experienced technology‐assisted sexual abuse (TASA). Enhancing mentalisation may reduce the risk of re‐victimisation, strengthen resilience, and support management of TASA‐related distress. However, evidence‐based interventions for TASA are nascent.

We determined the feasibility, acceptability, and safety of a 6‐week mentalisation‐based DMHI for YP with TASA in a pre‐registered multicentre non‐randomised clinical trial (ISRCTN43130832). YP aged 12–18 years recruited across child and adolescent mental health services in two sites completed baseline and post‐treatment assessments.

Forty‐six people were recruited; 43 were allocated to the i‐Minds app; 86% completed follow‐up assessments. The average participant age was 15.42 years. Most participants identified as female (69.8%), White British (95.3%); a notable percentage identified as non‐binary/third gender or preferred not to disclose their gender identity (16.3%), and 20.9% reported their gender did not match their sex assigned at birth. We found signals of post‐treatment improvement in TASA‐related post‐traumatic symptoms, resilience, internalising symptoms, and reflective functioning. User feedback indicated that participants generally had a positive experience of using the app, positively impacting their knowledge/understanding of their own mental health and their motivation to address their mental health difficulties. There were no related adverse events.

It is possible to recruit and retain participants for a DMHI trial of TASA. The i‐Minds app was safe, acceptable and showed promising signals of efficacy on valuable outcomes. Following further refinements, a powered efficacy trial is warranted to confirm and extend findings.