[PDF] Ethical and Safety Concerns Regarding the Use of Mental Health–Related Apps in Counseling: Considerations for Counselors | Semantic Scholar (2024)

A thematic analysis of user reviews sampled from 40 depression apps in Google Play and Apple App Store found ethical implications evident in areas of benefits, adverse effects, access, usability and design, support, commercial models, autonomy, privacy, and transparency.

There is a need for more translational research on smartphone apps for eating disorders and current marketplace offerings present risks that may not be balanced by their limited evidence.

For apps to be used effectively for suicide prevention, they should include evidence-based content and motivational elements to call helplines, and and clinicians need to examine app features and content before recommending them for use by patients.

The authors analyzed clinical trials developed over the last five years and found that the mobile mental health future seems promising, despite some limitations regarding dropout rates and several ethical and safety concerns.

This work describes the mushrooming of mobile health apps for mental health disorders and wellbeing in India and the potential of these apps in delivering mental health services discretely to people living in even remote and rural locations.

A tool that makes both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store searchable using keywords and that facilitates the extraction of basic app information of the search results showed that only a handful of mobile applications aimed at the treatment of mental health disorders, including mood disorders, are backed by robust scientific evidence.

A method for predicting mental health status using facial expression and sentiment analysis results is introduced and the suggested chatbot uses cutting-edge technology to analyse the user’s mood using a variety of inputs and offer suggestions for managing the feeling.

Results suggest the acceptability and utility of a digital, self-guided, single-session intervention-Project Body Neutrality-for adolescents experiencing co-occurring depressive symptoms and body image disturbances may be positioned to provide support to youth with limited access to traditional care.

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Regulatory concerns with mobile medical apps include their quality, safety, and data protection, and prudent providers will need to progress with caution when it comes to recommending apps to patients or relying on app-generated data to guide treatment.

A number of factors—ease of use, aesthetics, and individual experience—drove adoption and use and highlighted areas of focus for app developers and disseminators.

A set of clear, practical, evidence-based recommendations is presented for MHapp developers to create better, more rigorous apps, and it may not be possible to incorporate all 16 recommendations into a single MHapp.

Best practices for incorporating apps into treatment are identified, including competence in the use of smartphones in general and familiarity with the specific apps recommended, as well as privacy and security concerns relating to a particular app.

Clinicians may wish to consider cautiously incorporating apps as an adjunct to treatment or recommending apps to clients, but much is unknown including the possibility that in some circ*mstances, particular apps may prove to be iatrogenic for some clients.

There is currently insufficient research evidence to support the effectiveness of apps for children, preadolescents, and adolescents with mental health problems, and methodologically robust research studies evaluating their safety, efficacy, and effectiveness are promptly needed.

A systematic review of available mHealth apps and SMS services and their ever improving quality necessitates a systematic review in the area in reference to reduction of symptomology, adherence to intervention, and usability shows promising and emerging efficacy.

Research into the effectiveness of mental health apps is lacking, and the majority have no evidence of efficacy, so clinicians need to be aware of what apps have such evidence and should exercise caution when recommending apps to patients.

Mental health apps have the potential to be effective and may significantly improve treatment accessibility and the public needs to be educated on how to identify the few evidence-based mental health apps available in the public domain to date.

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