Approximately one in five teenagers suffers from depression, but providing treatment for this group is often tricky. That’s one reason why some psychologists are turning to technology to help connect teenagers with the mental health care they need.
Johns Hopkins psychiatrist Karen Swartz developed mADAP, a free video-based app that provides information tailored to teenagers about depression and other mood disorders. The app can help teens figure out how to distinguish garden-variety sadness from depression, and points them to resources for professional help. It also stresses the point that depression is a treatable illness, and that there’s help available. mADAP joins other technology-based methods for connecting with depressed teens, such as chat therapy.
But online mental health information isn’t just for teens; I’m a fan of Hopkins’s “Ask a Psychiatrist” video series, which is like one of those many popular advice columns out there, but involving actual experts.
This is a home run!
Checked the iTunes app store. You must be 17 to download the app.