Mental Health Apps—They Help but We Don’t Know How Much

Mental Health Apps—They Help but We Don’t Know How Much
Stphane Lemire/iStock
Jonathan Zhou
Updated:

Computers and mental healthcare already have a history together; psychiatric researchers jumped on the opportunity for automated therapy treatments during the late ‘90s as personal computers became more ubiquitous. So it’s no surprise that now mobile apps, increasingly our 24/7 companions, have become the next popular venue for mental health solutions.

The iPhone App Store has only been around for 7 years, yet as of October, there were at least 1,526 depression-related apps alone, and scores of other apps have been created to treat or monitor virtually every disorder out there.

There are games to help conquer negative thoughts, and mental exercises to manage stress and anxiety. Some geo-track substance abusers and tabulate their visits to risk areas like town bars. Others help you measure mood patterns then let you share results with a social media support community.

There are apps for dementia, autism, panic, bulimia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and PTSD, to name a few.

While these apps could prove useful or even transformative, particularly in reaching those who may not get help another way, at the moment, the field is still new and largely untested. And like with many new technologies, product development is far outpacing the ability to catalogue or evaluate what’s coming to market.

In the United States, mental health issues continue to be severely under-treated.
In the United States, mental health issues continue to be severely under-treated.
Jonathan Zhou
Jonathan Zhou
Author
Jonathan Zhou is a tech reporter who has written about drones, artificial intelligence, and space exploration.
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