PhD defence: Maria Louise Jöhnk
Mobile app-based behavioural therapy: Exploring the clinical potential of a digital intervention for children and adolescents with chronic tic disorders
Info about event
Time
Location
Auditorium G206-145, Entrance G, Aarhus University Hospital
On Tuesday 20 October 2026 at 14:00, Maria Louise Jöhnk defends her PhD dissertation entitled “Mobile app-based behavioural therapy: Exploring the clinical potential of a digital intervention for children and adolescents with chronic tic disorders”.
Tics are involuntary movements or sounds that occur in many children and adolescents. For some, tics can have such a significant impact that they affect everyday life and quality of life. Effective behavioural treatments are available, but access can be limited because there are only a limited number of clinicians with specialised expertise in tic disorders.
A new PhD project from Aarhus University, Health, has explored the potential for providing behavioural treatment for tics with the support of an app. The project comprises two clinical studies involving children and adolescents with chronic tic disorders, as well as an interview study involving general practitioners and psychologists from the Educational Psychological Counselling Service (PPR). The clinical studies examined, among other things, whether the app-based treatment could be delivered in routine clinical practice and how participants’ tics developed during treatment. The interview study also explored how professionals outside specialised care experience and manage tics and how they view the potential for digital support.
The results from the pilot study suggest that app-based behavioural therapy can be delivered in a specialised clinical setting, with low attrition and high satisfaction among those who completed the treatment. In the subsequent clinical study, tic severity decreased during both app-based behavioural therapy and app-based psychoeducation. However, the study was not large enough to determine with confidence whether one treatment was more effective than the other. The interviews also indicated limited knowledge of tic disorders and their management among the professionals interviewed, but generally positive attitudes towards the potential for digital support. Overall, the PhD project contributes new knowledge and insights into app-based treatment for children and adolescents with tics and highlights areas that should be investigated further in future studies.
The summary is written by the PhD student.
The defence is public and takes place Auditorium G206-145, Entrance G, Aarhus University Hospital. Please see the press release for more information.
Contact
PhD student Maria Louise Jöhnk
Mail: maria.joehnk@viborg.rm.dk
Phone: +45 31699897