Clinical improvement and engagement phenotypes with Ash: evidence from two real-world studies
At SBM 2026, Caitlin Stamatis presented two real-world studies of Ash showing reductions in depression and anxiety, improved social support, and engagement-linked outcomes.
Society for Behavioral Medicine 2026 Annual Meeting
Real-world evidence synthesis (two studies)
New York University
Two real-world studies of Ash: clinical improvement and engagement phenotypes
Key Finding
Across two real-world studies of Ash, users showed clinically meaningful reductions in depression and anxiety (PHQ-9 d=.80, GAD-7 d=.77 at 6 weeks, sustained at 10 weeks) with improved social functioning, and higher-engagement users generally improved more.
Summary
In a session on real-world evidence in digital mental health at the Society for Behavioral Medicine 2026 Annual Meeting, Dr. Caitlin Stamatis presented findings synthesizing two real-world studies of Ash. A prospective cohort (N=305, baseline PHQ-9 or GAD-7 ≥10) showed significant reductions in depression and anxiety at 6 weeks, sustained at 10 weeks, alongside gains in loneliness and perceived social support; a second study derived five engagement phenotypes from roughly 100,000 users and linked higher engagement to greater symptom improvement.
The Full Picture
Safety guardrails flagged about 1% of sessions for potential crisis content, each with clinical review and escalation, and 38.6% of conversations occurred between 9pm and 5am — underscoring the value of always-available support beyond traditional care hours.
The talk drew three lessons for real-world evidence in digital health: model engagement as multidimensional phenotypes rather than simple dose counts; link passively collected behavioral metrics with repeated standardized outcomes; and treat safety as continuous risk monitoring with clinician escalation rather than one-time pre-launch validation.
Researchers
Related Research
In a real-world pilot, Ash users saw sustained improvements in depression and anxiety
More engagement, more improvement: a dose-response study of 100,000 Ash users
Begin your journey
Take the first step today
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Ash is not designed to be used in crisis. If you are in crisis, please seek out professional help, or a crisis line. You can find resources at www.findahelpline.com.
© Slingshot AI 2026