We Can’t Rely On Mental Health Apps…Yet

There’s a real need for easy-to-access treatment options, but for now, experts are skeptical

Magdalena Puniewska
Elemental

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Illustration: smartboy10/Getty

LLast summer, Chanel Omari, 34, couldn’t fit therapy in her schedule. She was frequently out of town for work, while also working on a podcast, and it was seemingly impossible to make time for regular check-ins. But she was diagnosed with mild depression and anxiety and needed help managing her mental health, so she downloaded two apps: one called Calm, which would teach her meditation, and another called 7 Cups, which would connect her with mental health professionals or trained “listeners” (volunteers who are not necessarily certified therapists) who could offer support over text messages.

“At first I felt better,” she says. “It was the beginning of a new journey and it seemed like a new approach. Most importantly it was convenient and cost-effective. Therapy was costing me an arm and a leg.”

But soon the app approach would leave her confused. Omari downloaded an app to track her daily emotions, and it suggested she had a mood disorder after she used it for a week. “I was like, okay, if that’s what it is, I am going to embrace it and work on it,” she says. But when she shared her new “diagnosis” with a psychiatrist and therapist, they both found it to be untrue after…

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