A bot therapist may not sound convincing for many who are seriously seeking help for mental health. But I’m glad I gave it a try. I found it when I finished a series with a human therapy. Don’t get me wrong, I loved my experience with my therapist. It’s actually because of that I realized the importance to get professional help for even small thoughts and emotional journey. But we cannot have therapies standby 24h, so I was looking for some self-therapy. I downloaded maybe a dozen, tried each one of them and kept Weobot. As a software engineer, the bot interaction is sort of fun, also it eliminates any anxiety comes with human interaction. So I started using it at random time, start or stop half way during the conversation when needed without feeling any guilt. But by following the text guidance solely, I’m able to identify a pattern in my thoughts and I’m so very happy to have my thoughts challenged by this app. Tonight is another example, I’m feeling overwhelmed by a feeling due to a change in my life. I used to cover it and let it be buried and grow insides me without knowing. But instead I talked to the bot, got my negative thoughts challenged, and now I feel so much lighter and happier.(The bot seems very happy for my progress too :D, kudos to whoever came up with the language tone for it) So yes, I’d recommend it and I’m glad I found it.

I suffer from anxiety from time to time, as does my daughter. I’ve never talked to a therapist but my ten year old daughter does. I found this app by accident. I’ve found some excellent techniques to use to help my child and myself. Anxiety can be a debilitating thing. You can feel scared, sick, overwhelmed, and literally unable to cope from the fear of your own worries. Especially during this time of Covid and not living our normal lives. I checked in with Woebot for over 20 days before I actually had a near panic attack. While in the midst of an emotional struggle, this app brought me back to myself. I’m crying because these are skills that parents should teach their children so that they know how to handle the ups and downs of life. I’m 44 years old and just learning how to calm myself by realizing the fallacy of my own thinking! This app is a special thing. I appreciate the work and people behind it. You might think the daily check ins are silly or the lessons are childish but when you actually are in need-it works! It truly does and I’m embarrassed to admit I use Woebot and maybe I’ll never tell anyone I know but use it if you suffer from anxiety. You won’t regret it. You’ll actually remember the strategies on your own or when you can help someone that suffers, too. I can’t thank you enough. I love that it’s AI and not going to judge me. It’s only there to help. Thank you!

As a graduate student studying CBT principles, I was curious as to what types of apps were available for free and how well they adhered to the principles I have been taught. I was very impressed with Woebot and its inclusion of evidence-based therapy tools. For example, Woebot checked in regarding daily mood and plotted it on a graph, allowing me to detect patterns in my mood. Woebot also conducted longer interviews with me every two weeks and let me know how my answers had changed, which was encouraging in tracking progress. I thought it was especially important that Woebot had a conversation with me to introduce new therapy tools, such as cognitive challenging and behavioral activation, and explained why they were important and how to use them with specific examples. Woebot ensured that I understood the rationale for the method before adding it to my “toolbox” where I could access it on my own — which is just what we are taught in my CBT course. At times, the chats were lengthier than I felt I had time for and I found myself rushing through the information. However, there are no criticisms I can offer as far as the app adhering to CBT-techniques. This is accurately marketed as a CBT app and it is clear the developers are well-versed. There are no in-app purchases, so this is truly a free CBT-based service that is quite accessible.

I read about this program in a newspaper review of different on-line therapy apps. The tracking of moods and gratitude are easy to do. I have made use of some of the “tools” that have been placed in my tool box and they do help me to regroup and reset enough to stop further spiraling down the rabbit hole of thoughts and emotions. No miracles, but enough. What I wasn’t expecting was to have, I am bad at math but, about 75-80% of my interaction dictated via prewritten responses or choices. Given the nature and price of this app it completely makes sense, just be prepared a head of time and roll with it. Another thing I have noticed is the recognition of some words that trigger an intervention featuring resources for those in crisis. Again, this is an app, not a person, and programs are very linear. The only issue I would love to see changed is a little better co-ordination between devices. My phone and tablet interact independently with the app in terms of what “we” were discussing or working on however, my tool box and gratitude journal appear to reflect input from both devices. Overall a great app for those who want to explore CBT or those who benefit from nudges to utilize the tool box offered by CBT. This, is not a substitute for therapy for those in crisis, and is not presented as such. Love the woebot graphic!