Can self-help apps comprehensively inform mental health treatment?

Research suggests that mobile apps can help users better understand mental illnesses

Mobile tech can help destigmatize mental health. Via Unsplash.

As the world becomes increasingly more mobile, it seems there is an app for everything one could need. This is true as well for apps targeted toward users experiencing depression or depressive symptoms in order to educate them and allow access to professional help.

In a 2017 study conducted by Sebastian Scherr and Mark Goering, participant activity was monitored via a mental health app and evaluated based upon the information they were accessing within the app. While the authors indicated that there is not a substantial history of studies on mental health apps, there is a factor of the media that can help destigmatize negative connotations such as self-blame and inhibition of help seeking.

A majority of the study is spent relaying the benefits of such technology to users with mental health issues. The authors list access to information surrounding depressive symptoms and the ability to connect users with professional help as the most crucial services monitored in the app.

Using qualitative measurements, participants in the study were asked three times over the course of the day if they had been experiencing depressive symptoms. If participants answered yes, they were then redirected to a questionnaire that would ask them to rate the feelings of the symptom(s) on a scale of 1-4 (four indicating extreme feelings) then given the opportunity to further explain their feelings in text. Following these responses, the information was logged along with history of what mental health related topics users searched for within the app.

Ultimately, researchers found that information about depression-related thoughts also searched for information about specific behaviors related to depression. Additionally, they concluded that those who searched for facts about depression contrarily sought less information about diagnosis.

Conclusions follow that no matter why an individual is accessing a mental health help app, they can ultimately lower the intimidating stigma of seeking professional help and treatment by creating community and disseminating information upon a user’s request, on their terms of access.