Treating Depression: There's an App for That!

"There's an app for that!"  Everyone has either seen or heard the famous line from Apple advertising the amount of applications they provide for the Apple iphone.  There are apps for games, social networks, watching movies, and much more.  Who thought that someday there would be apps for self help?  What if there was an app to treat disorders like depression?  Well, such apps are already in the process of being developed.

Janice Wood, in her article "Harnessing Smartphones, Apps to Beat Depression", says that researchers at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine are currently working on multiple web-based, mobile and virtual technologies to help treat depression and other related disorders.

Psychologist Dr. David Mohr, who is also the director of the Center for Behavioral Intervention Technologies and a professor of preventive medicine at Feinberg, says, "We’re inventing new ways technology can help people with mental health problems.  The potential to reduce or even prevent depression is enormous."

Mohr explains that the apps could offer new treatment options for those who are unable to receive traditional treatment or find traditional treatment uncomfortable.  "They also can be offered at significantly lower costs, which makes them more viable in an era of limited resources," explains Mohr.

Products in Production

The most popular item that is in production is a smartphone that will be able to detect symptoms of depression.  The phone will learn your usual patterns through your average use, which will allow it to sense that you may be isolated and will suggest a number to call or to see your friends.  The technology is called Mobilyze! and is still being worked on.  However, the researchers did a small test that helped to reduce symptoms of depression.

Additional projects that are also in production include a virtual human therapist who will be able to help prevent depression in teens, an alarm clock-like app that will flash a picture of a pill bottle reminding the person to take their antidepressant medication, and a social network meant to help cancer survivors deal with stress and sadness.

If this is the future of smartphone apps, I can only imagine what other plans are in the works.

Sources:

http://psychcentral.com/news/2012/02/08/harnessing-smartphones-apps-to-beat-depression/34592.html

Photo Credit:

Florin Hatmanu

Sean MacEntee

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