Smartphone Therapists

Smartphone Therapists

By April Qualls 2B

　

Almost everyone is afraid of something in their lives. Some people have fears that can turn into disorders. In my case, I am very afraid of snakes. But I hardly ever see a snake, so my fear can hardly be called an illness. But, for some people, they might have a mental illness, like fear of heights, fear of being in small spaces. Those fears, can get worse over time, very quickly. Therapy sessions can help, and usually do. But, we are in a period of time where we use our cell phones for, well, just about everything. The iPhone is very popular, and since Apple has released the iPhone 5 a few days ago, the brand has become even more popular. But along with the new iPhone, you can also get new apps to go along with it.

Anyone that has a mental illness, or have changing moods, depression, and other signs of mental illness, therapists and health professionals, recommend their patients to use mobile apps to care for their illness. These apps can help with just about any mental problems you may have. Kristen Mulcahy, a psychologist in Falmouth, Massachusetts, created an idea for an app that corresponds to people with OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder). This app has patients try to face their fears, by the method of practice. Kristen gives us an example: “Users can practice this with, for instance, leaving the house without checking the door lock multiple times, over a period of time. If they give in before the timer is up, there’s a ‘Just Gave In’ button.”

Other apps, like Moody Me, used by Dr. Rakesh Jain, a psychiatrist at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, are used to track your mood. The app Moody Me, uses photos uploaded by the user to describe their mood. You can go more into the app, by using a set of lists provided by the app, to help figure out what could have caused your mood, and why it might change. Jain also has his patients use an app that tracks their BMI (body mass index), because depression and BMI are linked with illness in different ways.

Thee are other helpful apps, like Live Happy, an app that helps you by offering “happiness boosting activities wherever you go”. It has many other features as well, along with a gratitude journal, that you can record the many things that you might be thankful to have in your life. Dr. Jain says that the Live Happy app is “extremely scientifically based and (an) unusually powerful app”.

These apps are connected to the world, because the people that came up with the idea for these apps, want to be able to help people that have these mental illnesses, because not everyone can, or do, get treatment for them. Resources say that we always have our cell phones with us, wherever we go; so to be able to create technology that can be used on a cellular device, whenever you need to use it, is a good and helpful thing to millions of people all over the world.

This information is provided by http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/27/health/mental-health-apps/index.html?ht=hp_bn12