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Improvement of PTSD symptoms via mobile app-delivered acceptance-commitment therapy intervention: A task-state
Yunxiao Guo1, Sijun Liu1, Yuyi Zhang1
1Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior, Ministry of Education.
Objective:
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) causes significant morbidity, with acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) emerging as an effective treatment. Given advances in internet technology, mobile ACT interventions offer a promising approach to PTSD treatment. This study aimed to develop and test a mobile app-delivered ACT intervention for PTSD and assess its effects on symptoms and associated brain activity patterns.
Method:
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we assessed brain activation related to mood regulation and measured symptom scores (trauma, anxiety, depression, mental flexibility, posttraumatic growth) in 52 PTSD participants (28 ACT intervention, 24 wait-list control). Brain activation patterns were analyzed over time, with their relationship to symptom improvement.
Results:
The ACT group showed significant improvements in trauma severity, anxiety, psychological flexibility, and posttraumatic cognition. Neuroimaging revealed decreased activation in the right inferior frontal gyrus during implicit emotional processing, positively correlated with psychological flexibility. The ACT group also exhibited reduced right inferior frontal gyrus activation in emotion modulation by attention shifting and increased activation in the parahippocampal gyrus, which was positively correlated with improved anxiety levels. These changes in brain activity suggest the potential effectiveness of the intervention.
Conclusions:
These findings provide preliminary evidence that mobile app-delivered ACT may be a feasible and potentially effective approach for improving psychological functioning in individuals with PTSD. However, further studies with active comparators are necessary to strengthen the evidence base. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).
