SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Woebot Labs, Inc. today launched Woebot for iOS on the Apple iTunes Store. Woebot is the only mental health chatbot that is clinically shown to reduce symptoms of mood-based disorders. Since launching in 2017, Woebot has been used by people worldwide as a free, accessible, and stigma-free tool to receive quality mental health care. Today’s announcement opens Woebot to users outside of Facebook Messenger, in a standalone app.
“Designing a mobile app was a natural next step to make Woebot more accessible,” said Woebot CEO and Founder, Dr. Alison Darcy. “We’re excited to see how Woebot is changing the conversation around mental health care—and providing high quality psychological tools for those who may have difficulty accessing them. With users from over 130 countries around the world, we’re already seeing the incredible impact Woebot has on people’s lives and are humbled by the positive feedback we’ve received. Our hope is that the app will continue to encourage people to proactively take care of their mental health.”
Woebot was created to break down the barriers associated with receiving mental health services. Drawing on the principles of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the chatbot engages users through friendly, thoughtful conversations and equips them with techniques to address challenging life events. Woebot also has the ability to personalize conversations and track fluctuations in one’s mood over time.
The new app expands on existing capabilities and offers new features. With animation linked to natural language processing (NLP), the chatbot can respond in conversations with animated reactions, giving tailored responses to those who are dealing with specific mental-health issues such as grief, addiction, or self-destructive habits. Woebot will also offer mindful meditation and other strategies adapted from dialectical behavioral therapy, empowering users with specialized tools to manage everyday stressors. The app will continue to serve as a platform to further develop the chatbot’s AI and empathic response capabilities, pioneering a new model for human-robot interaction in digital healthcare.
Woebot can be downloaded from the iTunes App Store or available for use on Facebook Messenger at m.me/drwoebot. The company plans to release a version of the app for Android in spring 2018.
About Woebot Labs
Woebot Labs has created the world's first mental health chatbot supported by a controlled research trial. The global mental health care epidemic is growing at an unprecedented rate. Woebot was founded to address this crisis with tools to make therapy accessible and stigma-free for millions of people suffering from anxiety, depression and other serious mental health issues.
Woebot demonstrated significant reduction in symptoms of depression and anxiety after a two week trial. Woebot is currently available on Facebook Messenger at m.me/drwoebot and the iTunes App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/woebot/id1305375832?ls=1&mt=8. Woebot Labs, Inc., is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. For more information, please visit woebot.io or follow Woebot on Facebook and Twitter.
Woebot Media Contact
LaunchSquad for Woebot
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