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
GET IN TOUCH
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