Mental Health Apps
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the clinical development of a host of self-help apps. Possibly it is due to disruptions in mental health services, economic or convenience factors, but our populace is adopting this form of care. Drawbacks of using apps are that some software is unregulated prior to hitting the market, which may render them ineffective or even risky. If a person is already in therapy, the use of undiscussed external programs can muddy the waters of the person’s clinical treatment plan, which would be a problem. In psychotherapy a good deal of work is done outside the session. In my experience, clients have trouble enough completing outside tasks (even with therapeutic support). There may be less resolve towards homework success left to their own devices – pun intended.