The Lighten Your Life Program: An Educational Support Group Intervention That Used a Mobile App for Managing Depressive Symptoms and Chronic Pain.

An educational support group, The Lighten Your Life Program, was developed for adult patients who self-reported depressive symptoms and had one or more comorbid chronic pain condition. Using a mixed methods, pilot design, the purpose of the current study was to test the feasibility of The Lighten Your Life Program, which combined depression education with in-person group support every 2 weeks. The Lighten Your Life Program also encouraged the use of Pacifica, a mobile application (app), as a self-management tool. Another aim was to explore what effect The Lighten Your Life Program had on decreasing depression severity. Statistically significant differences in Patient Health Questionnaire-9 scores were noted over time. Educational support group programs and the use of mobile apps, such as Pacifica, could be beneficial in helping individuals self-manage their depressive symptoms and chronic pain condition. [Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57(7), 39-47.]. Copyright 2019, SLACK Incorporated.