Do mental health apps really help or hurt?

When you first wake up, you probably hit the snooze button on your alarm clock — you know, the one on your smartphone. Later on in the day, you might snap a selfie or use a map app to find a good spot for lunch.

Technology has become so ingrained in our culture that nowadays there truly is an app for just about everything — even to manage your mental health. These apps can help manage or decrease stress, connect with therapists and even practice new industry habits, such as meditation.

Finding a balance

Apps such as Code Blue and Talkspace can be lifesaving tools for people and their mental health. Code Blue provides teenagers who struggle with depression or bullying with a support group. Talkspace connects users with licensed therapists via messaging.

Another mental health app, Muse, can help users learn the basics of mindfulness meditation. Combined with an EEG headset, which reads a user’s brainwaves, the app gives real-time feedback on meditation practice. It also has the option for clinicians and coaches to interact with their clients.

“Students use Muse to manage stress related to school; older adults use Muse to ... stay sharp and age well,” says psychologist Graeme Moffat, vice president of research at Muse. “Clinicians and therapists recommend Muse to their patients as a way of learning meditation to help manage certain chronic conditions or mental health challenges.”

It’s important to remember, though, that these kinds of apps aren’t meant to totally substitute for in-person therapy and traditional methods.

“Apps can help people focus on being more mindful,” says Bart Rossi, a clinical psychologist in Naples, Florida. “But relying on apps and not engaging positively with real-life experiences and people is no way to have lasting success for mental health. Apps should be looked at as a tool and not a panacea.”

Pros vs. cons

Clinical psychologist Lisa Strohman, founder of the Technology Wellness Center in Arizona, says people usually tend to turn to apps because of cost and time.

“A lot of people don’t have the time or the financial resources to go to traditional therapy,” Strohman says. “The good of having access on apps is to be able to get your thoughts out as you need to. The cost appears to be much more affordable, as most therapists are getting reimbursed for short responses rather than the traditional hour at a time.”

The largest drawback to using apps is the interpersonal connection that’s lost between a therapist and a client, Strohman says. “This ‘therapeutic alliance’ is one of the strongest indicators to success or patient recovery that we typically find,” she says.

California-based family therapist Aida Vazin says many psychologists and therapists view apps for mental health as both positive and negative.

“Apps may be a way to get someone to start exercising coping skills,” Vazin says. “However, it may be viewed negatively because it may be addressing just the surface or a fragment of the needs of a person, since apps have limitations on how personalized the experience may be. It can easily be argued that people are too connected to apps.”

But looking ahead, Vazin sees technology being used more than traditional ways to manage mental health. Mental health practices have to be ready to evolve and work with the technological needs of modern-day lifestyles.

“The trend is going more toward technology-based,” she says. “I am a big supporter of getting people connected to healthy coping skills and tools. If an app is the way it’s going to happen, then it’s much better to have it via an app vs. nothing at all.”