UW–Madison’s Simon Goldberg, an assistant professor in the School of Education’s Department of Counseling Psychology and a core faculty member with the Center for Healthy Minds, was quoted in The Week’s story, “The benefits and drawbacks of mental health apps.”
People are increasingly using apps that promise help with anxiety, depression, and other mental health conditions instead of seeing in-person professionals. According to The Week, while these apps make mental health care more accessible, they lack pivotal human interaction.
Goldberg says that the relationship between patients and therapists is critical, and is something mental health apps don’t provide.
He adds that people “simply respond more strongly to interpersonal influences from live humans rather than fully or partially automated technology. … Human-to-human connection is particularly powerful, especially when struggling with mental health issues.”
Other concerns The Week discusses include a lack of regulation, and potential loss of data privacy. However, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, at-home health care is more popular than ever, and certainly has its pluses, including being more accessible.
Read The Week’s full list of pros and cons.