Digital Smarts - Therapy Apps for Teens and Young Adults Emerging

There is a growing group of technologies offering coaching, counseling and monitoring services for teens and young adults fighting eating disorders, depression, anxiety and other mental health issues. Many focus on crisis intervention, including DoSomething.org's Crisis Text Line, for teens who want free, anytime-access to trained specialists, and Mood 24/7, which lets people send daily texts about how they feel to a doctor, therapist or loved one. Others focus on having the support of others, such as The CodeBlue app, due for release this spring. The app is designed to help teens alert members of a designated support network with a text message whenever they feel acutely depressed. Lantern, a subscription-based Web and mobile service that focuses on self improvement, is set to release its eating disorder program in February for $33 to $75 a month. It has spent months testing on college campuses, where psychological problems have shot up some 28 percentage points between 2000 and 2010.

Critics of these technologies worry about the privacy of patients’ data, and the danger that a smartphone or tablet could obscure something that a specialist might only spot in person. When used alone, some experts warn certain apps could be inadequate because some people also need the in-person dynamic with a therapist. Proponents on the other hand, say the upside for some patients is that they can gain access to resources they've never had. As far as technology goes, it's only going to be more readily used, especially among young individuals for whom texting has become the dominant form of communication. "As a therapist," one expert says, "you're taught to meet someone where they are, and so, that's part of why tech-based tools are a good place to start." Indeed, experts say the idea is not to replace traditional therapy with tech, even though some research shows that online Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can be as effective as therapy in a clinical setting, but rather to extend therapy's impact. Whether or not you agree with the idea, it is certainly an interesting trend to watch and good to keep in mind as possible tools parents and schools can use to help kids.