The Therapy Apps Trying To Help You Deal While You’re On The NHS Waiting List

Mental health problems are on the rise, with some people in the UK having to wait for up to two years to receive therapeutic treatment.

With many being forced to take matters into their own hands, therapy apps could help provide those in need with a cheap and effective short-term alternative. Some of these apps have been around for a while, but there is also a growing number of artificially intelligent (AI) breeds that provide an increasingly personalized and emotional response, and they're on a mission to democratize therapy.

The use of A.I. may alleviate some waiting people by offering an immediate therapeutic chat session on the subject of their concern(s).

Democratizing therapy means "radical accessibility," says Dr. Alison Darcy, clinical research psychologist and founder of Woebot, an artificially intelligent chatbot grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Dr. Darcy told me Woebot’s goal is to break down "common barriers" to seeking mental health support, such as stigma or lack of financial resources. AI can offer quick and efficient progress across these barriers, making good mental health practices "easy for everyone"

Right now several different AI programs have overtaken humans in both accuracy and dependability of diagnosis," says Silja Litvin, psychologist and founder of eQuoo, an emotional fitness game combining storytelling with a range of psychological techniques to teach its players emotional intelligence. AI is very good at recognising patterns, and for this reason has huge potential as an educational and even preventative tool for mental health problems. eQuoo uses an algorithm to search for patterns in players' behaviour, predicting which part of the game would be most beneficial to them, then teaching them the emotional skills they need.

Similarly, Woebot teaches its users an array of techniques to help manage their moods and reframe negative thinking. Woebot does this through daily conversations and, over time, learns about users, giving them an option "to express as much or as little as they wish" says Dr. Darcy. The app then uses a series of decision trees to identify a user’s mood, helping them to recognize their own negative thought patterns. Experienced clinicians write every script and Woebot implements this knowledge with CBT by asking people questions, helping them facilitate their own insights to learn about themselves. Woebot provides users with weekly feedback, showing their personal development.

Replika.

Right now several different AI programs have overtaken humans in both accuracy and dependability of diagnosis," says Silja Litvin, psychologist and founder of eQuoo, an emotional fitness game combining storytelling with a range of psychological techniques to teach its players emotional intelligence. AI is very good at recognizing patterns, and for this reason, has huge potential as an educational and even preventative tool for mental health problems. eQuoo uses an algorithm to search for patterns in players' behavior, predicting which part of the game would be most beneficial to them, and then teaching them the emotional skills they need.

Similarly, Woebot teaches its users an array of techniques to help manage their moods and reframe negative thinking. Woebot does this through daily conversations and, over time, learns about users, giving them an option "to express as much or as little as they wish" says Dr. Darcy. The app then uses a series of decision trees to identify a user’s mood, helping them to recognize their own negative thought patterns. Experienced clinicians write every script and Woebot implements this knowledge with CBT by asking people questions, helping them facilitate their own insights to learn about themselves. Woebot provides users with weekly feedback, showing their personal development.

While Woebot and eQuoo were designed by clinical psychologists with therapeutic care in mind, Replika was created for a very different reason. In 2015, Replika cofounder Eugenia Kuyda’s best friend Roman died. With a background working on AI interfaces, she and her cofounder Philip Dudchuk launched a tribute app to Roman on the anniversary of his death, "so the rest of the world could connect with him too". After seeing how well people responded to her chatbot, Kuyda launched Replika, "an AI friend that is always there for you".