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Evaluating User Engagement With a Real-Time, Text-Based Digital Mental Health Support App: Cross-Sectional,
Edward Coffield1, Khadeja Kausar2
1Department of Population Health, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY, United States.
JMIR Formative Research
|April 14, 2025
Summary
Digital mental health apps offer 24-hour support, improving access to care. Most users accessed services via on-demand text sessions outside typical hours for relationship, depression, and anxiety concerns.
Area of Science:
- Digital Health
- Mental Healthcare Access
- Teletherapy
Background:
- 20% of US adults experience mental illness, facing barriers to traditional services.
- Digital mental health apps offer real-time, 24-hour human support.
- Limited data exists on user engagement with text-based mental health apps.
Purpose of the Study:
- Evaluate user engagement with Counslr, a digital, real-time, text-based mental health support app.
- Examine access patterns (time, day) and reasons for use.
- Compare engagement by session type (on-demand/scheduled) and membership (education/non-education).
Main Methods:
- Analyzed user data from students and employees using Counslr.
- Examined session length, day, time, and self-reported reasons for use.
- Stratified data by membership and session types to identify differences.
Main Results:
- Most users (63%) preferred on-demand sessions, which were shorter than scheduled sessions.
- 80% of users accessed the app between 7 PM and 5 AM.
- Top reasons for use included relationship issues, depression, and anxiety, with variations by user group.
Conclusions:
- Real-time digital mental health apps can overcome structural barriers to care.
- These apps provide access to licensed counselors outside standard hours.
- Further research is needed on app effectiveness and addressing access disparities.
