With millions of people experiencing anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, many are discovering that gaining access to in-person professional help with coping skills can be a challenge.
But now people who download a free smartphone app can have a “4 am friend” to talk to. This new “Covid Anxiety” app was created in a collaboration between experts at Cincinnati Children’s, the University of Cincinnati, and Wysa, a company that provides a digital behavioral health platform used by about 2 million people worldwide.
Co-creators of the Cincinnati Children’s module on the Wysa app are John Pestian, PhD, a leading expert in using natural language processing and machine learning tools to study and address mental health concerns; Michael Sorter, MD, Director, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Cincinnati Children’s; and Jeffrey Strawn, MD, an anxiety expert in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavorial Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati.