Article: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/health/feeling-anxious-soon-there-will-be-an-app-for-that.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

New York Times in the past year posted an article about the use of our smartphones for therapy.  There are pros and cons to the idea and actual implementation of such a concept. I would be more inclined to follow these wise words from the article:

“We are built as human beings to figure out our place in the world, to construct a narrative in the context of a relationship that gives meaning to our lives,” said Dr. Andrew J. Gerber, a psychiatrist at Columbia University. “I would be wary of treatments that don’t allow for that.”

While it does pose a possibility of allowing more people to have access to therapy in which may be less expensive, it does not allow for a relationship to really build between the therapist and the individual in therapy.  This has been shown by many researchers in all schools of psychology to be the number one helper in any difficulty.  Jonathan Shedler has been a prominent figure in this research and I would invite you to look into his research along with others.

A caution to this method of joining in the journey of therapy is this statement in the article:

“cognitive bias modification, or C.B.M., that seeks to break some of the brain’s bad habits”

The brain’s bad habits….I do not agree with this terminology and do not think that this is an real problem.  It is a symptom that is crying out to the person.  It does not need correction, but to be listened to.  To change the bad habit only fixes the difficulty on a surface level, but not at the deeper level that is where the symptom is hinting at.

It may be possible to use a form of technology to work with people with their difficulties, but you will be missing that pure relational aspect of any relationship.  Why distance yourself farther away from society when we already do that to the norm with texting, emails, and even this blog.