Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

In a crowded and rapidly evolving digital health marketplace, psychologists, clinicians, health administrators, patients, and other stakeholders need clear insights from a credible and trusted authority to identify and adopt technologies that meet their needs. The APA Labs Digital Badge Program translates rigorous professional standards into an understandable Badge library so stakeholders can quickly identify products that demonstrate alignment to APA Labs’ proprietary criteria.

Reviews are performed by independent digital-health evaluators specifically trained on the proprietary APA Labs Digital Badge criteria, with oversight from a multidisciplinary governance committee that includes licensed psychologists, data-privacy experts, and health-tech engineers.

The Organization for the Review of Care and Health Apps (ORCHA) is APA Labs' trusted technical partner for the Digital Badge Program. ORCHA provides a specialized platform that allows us to conduct thorough, unbiased reviews of digital mental health tools—ensuring they align with APA's rigorous standards—while efficiently handling a high volume of evaluations in a timely manner. With deep expertise in digital health evaluations, ORCHA shares APA Labs' core mission: empowering clinicians, patients, and communities by safely delivering the benefits of digital tools to everyone who needs them.

 Evaluations go beyond just reviewing documents—they're a hands-on process. Assessors start by examining what developers submit, like privacy policies, penetration testing reports, and research evidence. Then, they access and test the technology itself to confirm it works as described—for example, checking for bugs, verifying that data collection matches the privacy policy, or simulating real-user scenarios for usability and security. This independent verification, done in partnership with ORCHA over about 30 days, ensures everything aligns with evidence-based psychological practices and regulations. The review depth adjusts based on the tool’s complexity (e.g., stricter for clinical apps than simple trackers), and key must-haves—like HIPAA compliance or rigorous studies (such as randomized trials)—are non-negotiable. It's not just self-reported info; we prioritize scientific standards for trustworthy results.

How is the APA Labs Digital Badge Program different from other digital health frameworks?

The APA Labs Digital Badge Program is different in several key ways:

• Unlike a simple framework, the APA Labs Digital Badge Program is not a “do-it-yourself” guide that leaves users with the hard work of applying its insights to the vast marketplace of digital health products. Those kinds of frameworks are informational but not actionable.

• The APA Labs Digital Badge Program combines dynamic, proportionate review with continuous monitoring, where static frameworks are point-in-time snapshots of best practices.

• With more than 450 carefully crafted criteria developed by top experts at the intersection of psychology and technology, and leveraging the expertise of the APA, the APA Labs Digital Badge Program is the most robust program of its kind.

• The APA Labs Digital Badge Program is the only program of its type focused exclusively on mental and behavioral health.

The APA Labs Digital Badge Program is built for a wide range of digital mental and behavioral health technologies, from general wellness apps to regulated digital therapeutics. The program automatically scales in depth and rigor according to each technology’s declared features and risk level. In other words, the more complex the technology, the more closely it is examined.

The initial application requests the publicly available items first. Additional evidence (e.g., SOC 2 audit, clinical RCT data) is requested only if the functional answers indicate it is relevant. Expect a single consolidated “evidence request” early in Step 4 to minimize back-and-forth.

Yes. The fee covers independent evaluation, continuous monitoring, and platform maintenance.

Per the Supplier Agreement, you are required to notify APA Labs 10 days in advance of any update going live to give APA Labs time to determine whether/how the update impacts the existing badges. Significant functional changes may temporarily flag a badge as “Under Review” until reevaluation is complete.

The APA Labs Digital Badge signals the product has met at least Bronze level across all six domains: Scene Setters (contextual alignment), Scientific Principles (evidence base), Regulation & Safety, Data Protection & Privacy, Technical Security & Stability, and Usability & Accessibility.

This means the product meets foundational APA standards for quality, safety, and responsible design, providing clinicians and users with confidence in its alignment with psychological best practices.

Badges are tiered to reflect increasing levels of excellence, helping you select tools that match your clinical needs.

Higher-tier Badges (Silver, Gold) indicate progressively stronger evidence, safeguards and usability.

• Bronze: Indicates foundational compliance with APA guidelines, showing a commitment to baseline safeguards like data protection, ethical standards, and basic usability. It's a reliable starting point for tools that prioritize responsible development.

• Silver: Demonstrates strong adherence to industry best practices, with robust evidence (e.g., clinical studies), enhanced privacy measures, and inclusive design that goes beyond the basics—ideal for tools ready for broader clinical integration.

• Gold: Represents best-in-class excellence, with exceptional scientific backing, minimal risks (e.g., top-tier security and regulatory alignment), and outstanding user value—signaling tools that deliver high-impact, low-risk support for mental health outcomes.

Higher tiers highlight progressively deeper strengths in evidence, protections, and accessibility, empowering you to recommend technologies with proven alignment to professional standards.

Inclusion in the APA Labs digital badge program does not imply an endorsement by the American Psychological Association of the participating company’s marketing claims or specific products. APA has not evaluated the accuracy of any promotional language used by third-party organizations.

Not necessarily. APA Labs has not independently tested the product and cannot validate the product's claims itself. However, the badge indicates that the product has passed a rigorous set of criteria to demonstrate it is of high value

All badged products are systematically reviewed for compliance on a regular basis. In addition, companies are required to provide advanced notice and clear documentation of any major updates so that APA Labs can determine whether the proposed changes affect the badge of assignment. These two processes help ensure that the badge assignments stay up to date and reflect the most current product features and functions. 

Yes, provided you follow the APA Labs Digital Badge Program brand-use guidelines and in accordance with the terms of the Supplier Agreement.

1. Online application: After finalizing Supplier Agreement and payment, Supplier completes a secure web form and uploads key documents (privacy policy, security white-papers, clinical evidence, etc.).

2. Readiness call: An automated email invites the Supplier to book a 30-minute call to confirm scope and answer questions.

3. Initial evaluation: An ORCHA evaluator performs a full functional review. Documentary evidence is reviewed and stored for audit.

4. Secondary evaluation: A second evaluator reviews high-impact items to ensure scoring accuracy and consistency.

5. APA Labs review: Members of an APA Labs multidisciplinary expert panel review the evaluation as a final check.

6. Badge assignment: The evaluation is translated into badges according to quantitative backend logic.

7. Feedback report: Supplier receives full report on the evaluation including detailed analysis by domain.

8. Publication: Technologies that meet criteria for badging are added to the Digital Solutions Library.

9. Resubmission: Technologies that do not meet criteria for badging are eligible for one free resubmission. Supplier receives a detailed gap report plus an optional support call. The reevaluation focuses only on changed areas and is usually faster than the initial evaluation.

10. Ongoing monitoring: Badged technologies are regularly monitored for continued alignment with criteria. Suppliers are required to notify APA Labs 10 days in advance of any update going live to give APA Labs time to determine whether/how the update impacts the existing badges. Significant functional changes may temporarily flag a badge as “Under Review” until reevaluation is complete.

APA Labs is a unit of APA Services, Inc. (APASI), the companion professional association of the American Psychological Association (APA). As such, APA Labs has direct access to APA’s extensive expertise – including more than 192,000 psychological professionals who are members of both organizations. APASI draws on this expertise as it supports psychological practice and practitioners through creative, collaborative, psychology-centered projects, programs, and solutions.

As a unit of APASI, APA Labs is a mission-driven, non-profit initiative. After direct program costs, any surplus funds are reinvested into supporting APASI in advancing the interests and impact of psychology and psychologists.

APA Labs is a unit of APA Services, Inc. (APASI), the companion professional association of the American Psychological Association (APA). As such, APA Labs has direct access to APA’s extensive expertise – including more than 192,000 psychological professionals who are members of both organizations. APASI draws on this expertise as it supports psychological practice and practitioners through creative, collaborative, psychology-centered projects, programs, and solutions.

As a unit of APASI, APA Labs is a mission-driven, non-profit initiative. After direct program costs, any surplus funds are reinvested into supporting APASI in advancing the interests and impact of psychology and psychologists.