Abstract
Depression is a common mental health condition for which many mobile apps aim to provide support. This review aims to identify self-help apps available exclusively for people with depression and evaluate those that offer cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or behavioural activation (BA). One hundred and seventeen apps have been identified after searching both the scientific literature and the commercial market. 10.26% (n = 12) of these apps identified through our search offer support that seems to be consistent with evidence-based principles of CBT or BA. Taking into account the non existence of effectiveness/efficacy studies, and the low level of adherence to the core ingredients of the CBT/BA models, the utility of these CBT/BA apps are questionable. The usability of reviewed apps is highly variable and they rarely are accompanied by explicit privacy or safety policies. Despite the growing public demand, there is a concerning lack of appropiate CBT or BA apps, especially from a clinical and legal point of view. The application of superior scientific, technological, and legal knowledge is needed to improve the development, testing, and accessibility of apps for people with depression.
Highlights
Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders [1] which often begins in adolescence and if left untreated, may persist into adulthood [2]
While there are a large number of phone apps designed to assist those with depression available through the commercial market, few of these utilize a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) or Behavioural Activation (BA) approach despite these being the gold standard of first line psychological treatments [72]
The few apps that provide CBT or BA seem to be popular based on the number of downloads, with 4 out of 7 of the Android available apps achieving more than ten thousand downloads
Summary
Depression is one of the most common mental health disorders [1] which often begins in adolescence and if left untreated, may persist into adulthood [2] It ranks 4th in the global burden of disease [3]and is of significant economic cost to society[4]. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Behavioural Activation (BA) are an accepted evidence-based first-line treatment for depression [5]. Both CBT and BA have meta-analytic level of evidence in the treatment of depression[6,7]. With population estimates of PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0154248 May 2, 2016
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