A company based in Conshohocken has created a new platform that provides tools to help people with substance use disorders live a healthier lifestyle, writes Nora Macaluso for PhillyVoice.

New Ocean Health Solutions has named its newest app Substance Use Management. It is designed to offer additional support than what adults struggling with substance use may receive in individual and group therapy sessions.

Substance Use Management works as part of The Voyage, the company’s health, and lifestyle management app.

The program was created with the help of a substance abuse counselor and is currently being marketed to employers, health plans, and health systems.

New Ocean’s Chief Medical Officer Mike Musci said that the purpose of the app is to provide “an environment for support” and to offer tools to help people manage stress, anxiety and other behaviors generally associated with substance abuse.

Simon Goldberg, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Education’s counseling psychology department, cautions that not all app-based behavioral management programs have been tested in clinical trials because there is no requirement for them to do so.

He has not studied the New Ocean’s app but said in general research does show that mental health apps can be effective.

Read more about New Ocean Health Solution’s new Substance Use Management app at PhillyVoice.

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