King’s Centre for Military Health Research (KCMHR), sponsored by the Forces in Mind Trust (FIMT), at King’s College London, Monday 19^th May.

The Veterans’ Mental Health conference is held annually to discuss issues related to the mental health of Armed Forces communities. This year the specific focus was: Exploring Strategies to Improve Mental Health Outcomes.

Dr Jess Williams, Research Officer at the MilGAM Centre, delivered a presentation of the results of a study that piloted a smartphone app (ACT-Vet) which uses Acceptance and Commitment Therapy with veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder, who are also experiencing gambling harms.

The primary outcomes of the study showed that for the veterans who used the app, their gambling urges and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms decreased significantly across time, whilst their levels of ‘psychological flexibility’ increased. A mediation model which tested the mechanism of change for the veterans using the app, showed that an improvement in psychological flexibility would help reduce post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms which would in turn reduce urges to gamble.

More details of the ACTIVATE study which piloted the app can be found at https://actvet.uk/

The Act-Vet app itself is also available for free through Google Play or through the App Store:

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=noots.swansea.actvet&hl=en_GB

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/act-vet/id6474731055