Struggling with mental health? St. Louis psychiatrist's app can help

Americans are struggling. Rates of depression and anxiety have increased since the coronavirus pandemic began in early 2020, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said. Young people have been particularly affected.

Yet getting help isn’t easy. Many mental health providers have left the field, leaving a high demand for services amid a dearth of providers. Dr. Dale Anderson, a St. Louis psychiatrist, said some physicians have waiting lists that push back treatment for months. Anderson himself treats an average of 100 patients each week. “It's a real struggle to try and help people to the degree that they need it,” he said.

Anderson encourages people to get therapy (some people who say they don’t have time for therapy, he notes, don’t realize how much more time they’ll have if they no longer suffer from lethargy and depression).

But for those who can’t, or won’t, or just want to supplement therapy, he offers a free app. “CoPow for Living in a Coronavirus World” — “CoPow” for short — aims to teach the basics of cognitive behavioral therapy to users.

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/show/st-louis-on-the-air/2021-12-10/struggling-with-mental-health-st-louis-psychiatrists-app-can-help