Experiences of Using Mental Health Apps to Support Psychological Health and Wellbeing

Abstract

Mental health apps (MHApps) present a significant change to the field of mental health and represent a major shift in the way people manage and understand their mental health. MHApps are a new strand of apps available on a smartphone or tablet to support people with their psychological health and wellbeing. In these apps, users can record their mood, self-esteem, or other psychological factors via the app and then take part in psychological exercises to help positively impact their data. The data are stored in the app and presented in visual and textual form—acting as an indicator of current mental health. The current article takes a socio-materialist perspective and aims to provide insights into the context and experience of using MHApps. Drawing on qualitative semi-structured interview data with nine active users, this article identifies the following: (1) how MHApps provide a space for releasing distress “in the present,” in a way that is distinct from the punctuated nature of formal mental health provision; (2) how MHApps use “streaks” and other social media functions to incentivize attention to one’s mental health; and (3) how the collective presentation of data in MHApps affords a personal impression of the present, which provides an opportunity to take stock of the current status of one’s mental health. This article provides valuable insight regarding people’s experiences of using MHApps, which is important given the continued expansion of the field of apps and provides knowledge that can potentially feed into clinical practice and future app design.