Recently, I looked at the pros and cons of psychotherapy apps. Now, let’s examine the proliferation of other types of mental health apps. There are 10,000-20,000 mental health apps available and growing. Most of these are not therapy apps but apps that provide a self-help option in a related area. For example, Calm and Headspace are popular guided meditation apps. They can help you build your own mediation practice without any therapy at all. But not all mental health apps are so functional. Here are some reasons to embrace or avoid that potential download.

Advantages of Mental Health Apps

Stigma

Even in this enlightened age, there is a stigma about seeking psychotherapy. One of the advantages of mental health apps is that you can use them privately. There is no walk of shame to a therapist’s office. There is no explaining to someone that you can’t meet because you have a therapy appointment. No one knows about you using an app unless you tell them.

Convenience

One of the primary strengths of apps is convenience and mental health apps are no different. You can use them anywhere at any time that works for you. With psychotherapy, you have to make an appointment and take an hour (or more) out of your schedule to do it. Apps are totally flexible. Take a few minutes to download it and you have it at your disposal. It doesn’t get more convenient than that.

Choice

There are apps out there for any problem you can imagine. Anxiety and depression apps alone number in the thousands. If you want some help it is out there. You may have to do some trial and error to see what works for you but you definitely have many options to choose from, maybe too many.

Affordability

Psychotherapy is expensive. If you are paying out-of-pocket, it can cost hundreds of dollars per session. Not to mention, the cost of gas if you are traveling to a therapist’s office. Self-help apps are much more affordable. Let’s take the aforementioned Headspace, for example. It is $13 per month and $70 per year. While that may not be considered “cheap”, you get a lot for your money and it is much cheaper than therapy. Many other apps are free or offer free trials.

Complements to Therapy

Mental health apps can be a useful complement to therapy. For instance, let’s say you are seeking therapy for problems with anxiety. Your therapist may recommend that you do meditation daily. But maybe you don’t know how to meditate and don’t know where to start. An app like Headspace can help you learn to meditate and even motivate you to do it on your own. Apps can assist the therapist in moving you toward your goals.

Gateway to Mental Health

Apps are a very easy way to start your journey toward mental health. While going to therapy can be very intimidating, using an app provokes almost no anxiety. And that is a good thing. Many people need help and are scared to take the steps to seek it out. If an app is how you feel most comfortable in trying to better yourself, more power to you. And once you learn a bit more about mental health, maybe you won’t be afraid to get professional help. Making mental health accessible to the masses is a win-win for everyone.

Empowerment

Mental health apps breed a sense of self-efficacy. Sure, the app is providing you with resources and structure, but you know it is you that is doing the work necessary to improve yourself. When you go to therapy, you can’t help but give the therapist some (or most )of the credit. They don’t call it self-help for nothing.

Maybe Effective?

Research on self-help apps is in the beginning stages. But there is enough research to start to get some initial impressions. In a large review of 14 meta-analyses on the subject, mental health apps showed small positive effects on treating aspects of anxiety, depression, and overall well-being. It must be kept in mind that these are small effects and could be mostly due to the placebo effect, but it still holds some promise. Much more good quality research is needed to make more definitive conclusions. But if they help at all, it is beneficial for everyone.

Disadvantages of Mental Health Apps

Unregulated

Unlike psychotherapy apps, which utilize licensed psychotherapists, non-therapy apps have no such regulations. They can be developed by anyone and provide services that have zero scientific backing. In fact, one study found that the majority of free mental health apps for anxiety were “largely inconsistent with evidence-based treatments”. Another study found that less than five percent of apps were peer-reviewed by experts regarding their efficacy. When apps are not well regulated, we need to not only question if they are effective but if they could actually do harm. Self-help apps are the wild wild west of treatment. They need to be treated with a healthy amount of caution.

Mental Health Apps Are Not Therapy

It is important to acknowledge that apps are not psychotherapy. There are apps that offer psychotherapy (e.g., Betterhelp, Talkspace) but most offer non-therapy self-help resources. The danger is that some people may think by using an app that they are receiving all the help they need. And for many, it may be enough. But mental health apps should not be used to replace the need for psychotherapy. Bottom line: If you have a more serious problem, you need psychotherapy, not an app.

Not Very Effective (So Far)

As noted above, research has shown only limited effectiveness of these apps. That might not be surprising due to the fact that they are largely unregulated and lack professional review. Maybe if the psychometric properties of the research improve, more significant results will be found but, for now, these apps have not exhibited impressive outcomes.

Privacy Concerns

Whenever you use apps, privacy is a concern. Apps can be hacked. They can sell your information to advertisers. I mean, can you say with certainty that the people at these companies are really trustworthy? For example, the online therapy app BetterHelp had to give back $7.8 million to customers as part of a settlement after the company was caught sharing health data with companies. In addition, one study found that less than half of mobile apps for depression even have a privacy policy. One of the goals of creating an app is to try and make money. Can you really say they have your best interests at heart?

Should I Be Using Mental Health Apps?

Mental health apps have shown the potentital to help people with a variety of problems. Unfortunately, many are unregulated and based on no established theory. My advice: approach them with a healthy dose of skepticism and be prepared to do some investigation. First, set reasonable expectations. An app isnt going to be the same as seeing a therapist. They may provide self-help in a certain area but it won’t be a complete therapeutic experience. Second, check to see if the app is endorsed, reviewed, or created by mental health professionals. If it isn’t, move on. Third, do some digging to find out if the app has a supported theoretical background. An app that tackles anxiety, for instance, should be based on an established treatment, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Finally, if you are having problems that are causing serious disruption in your life, an app probably is not enough. Seek professional help.

When used correctly, mental health apps show a lot of promise. Just don’t assume that all apps are created equal. Some will be beneficial while others are complete trash. A quick examination will tell you if it is worth your time. Overall, I think apps are worth at least a trial. They offer easy access to self-help. And anything that has the potential to make us feel better is worth a try. So, be careful but go for it. I mean, couldn’t we all use a little more help?