Therapy app or coaching app? What psychology apps can and cannot do

If you lie awake at night because the argument with your partner or the trouble at work will not leave your head, you often reach for your phone first. Searches like “therapy app” or “psychology app” lead to hundreds of offers. But what is behind them? And what can an app really do?

Why so many people look for a therapy app

Apps are available instantly, cost little or nothing and need no appointment. You can open one at two in the morning without explaining to anyone what is going on. That lowers the threshold for engaging with yourself at all.

At the same time, the term “therapy app” is misleading. In Germany, psychotherapy is regulated by law. The Psychotherapists Act describes it as an activity for identifying, curing or alleviating disorders that amount to an illness, using scientifically recognised methods. Activities that are only about working through or overcoming social conflicts, or other purposes outside the healing arts, are expressly excluded⁹. This is exactly where the line between therapy and coaching runs.

Three kinds of apps at a glance

What the app store lists under “mental health” falls roughly into three groups:

What apps can do: the strengths

Research on apps is now extensive. An international team led by the Australian psychologist Jake Linardon, the American psychiatrist John Torous and the Dutch psychologist Pim Cuijpers analysed 176 randomised trials. Apps had small but significant effects on symptoms of depression (g = 0.28) and generalised anxiety (g = 0.26). The effects held across follow-up periods and remained when small or methodologically weaker trials were removed¹. Apps with elements of cognitive behavioural therapy, mood tracking or chatbot features did best¹.

Small does not mean meaningless. Spread across many people who would otherwise have no support at all, a small effect can achieve a lot. A review led by John Torous therefore describes digital tools as promising, but also stresses that the evidence is still early and that implementation in everyday life is the biggest hurdle¹¹.

Coaching has a solid foundation too. A Dutch meta-analysis led by Tim Theeboom found positive effects of coaching on performance, well-being, coping, work attitudes and goal-directed self-regulation, with effect sizes between g = 0.43 and g = 0.74⁷. These studies looked at coaching by people in a work setting, not at apps. But they show that structured self-reflection with clear goals can change things.

What apps cannot do: the limits

Alone is harder than supported

A team including the German psychologists Matthias Berking, Harald Baumeister and David Ebert examined apps used entirely without human support. There was an effect on symptoms of depression, but no reliable effect on anxiety². The authors’ conclusion: based on current evidence, such apps cannot be recommended as standalone psychological treatment².

Harald Baumeister and colleagues also compared what support adds to online programmes. Guided programmes led to fewer symptoms and were completed more often. The odds of finishing a programme were almost three times higher with guidance (OR = 2.76)³. In the few studies on the topic, the qualification of the guides hardly mattered³.

Many people stop quickly

An analysis of real usage data shows how big the challenge is: on average, only 4 percent of people who had installed a wellbeing app opened it on any given day. After 30 days, the median was 3.3 percent⁴. The best app is useless if it disappears into a folder after three days.

Data is a sensitive issue

If you confide your feelings to an app, you should know where the data goes. A study by Kit Huckvale, John Torous and Mark Larsen examined 36 popular apps for depression and quitting smoking:

An app is not a counterpart

Much of what helps in therapy comes from the relationship. A meta-analysis led by the Swiss psychologist Christoph Flückiger and the American psychologist Bruce Wampold pooled 295 studies with more than 30,000 patients. The quality of the working alliance was robustly linked to therapy outcome (r = .28)⁶. An app can be friendly, listen well and ask follow-up questions. It is not a person who knows you and goes through difficult times with you. Read more in Relationship first.

Which kind of support suits me?

A simple guide. It does not replace a professional assessment, but it helps with first orientation:

1. Are you in an acute crisis right now?

   YesGet help now: crisis line or 112

   NoOn to the next question

2. Have you been feeling bad for weeks, or is daily life barely working?

   YesTalk to your GP or a psychotherapy practice. In Germany, they can also prescribe a DiGA.

   NoOn to the next question

3. What would you like?

   To relaxMindfulness and self-help apps

   To understand yourselfCoaching and reflection apps like MindMotion

How to recognise a good app

The American Psychiatric Association has developed an evaluation model that works in several steps. It starts with background and access, then looks at privacy and security, the professional foundation and usability, and finally asks whether the data fits your goals and can be shared¹⁰. According to the APA, privacy and security are among the most critical considerations of all¹⁰. A simple checklist follows from this:

• Who is behind it? Is there a legal notice, an identifiable company and professionally qualified people?
• What happens to my data? Is it passed on? Can I use the app without an account?
• What is it based on? Does it name a professional model or research, in a way you can follow?
• Do I like coming back? Short sessions, a clear structure and a tone that suits you.
• Does it say what it cannot do? A trustworthy app does not promise a cure and points to crisis help.

Therapy, coaching, app: what is what?

What MindMotion wants to be

MindMotion does not provide psychotherapy and is not a therapy app. The app is a tool for psychological self-reflection and is closer to coaching. It is for people who notice that certain conflicts keep repeating, at work, in their relationship or in their family, and who want to understand why.

Its professional foundation is the conflict model of the OPD, a psychodynamic model of inner core conflicts developed in Germany. You can find out more in Understanding inner conflicts. MindMotion is being developed by a psychologist and licensed psychotherapist, with the clear aim of not promising any treatment.

What this looks like in practice is shown in How MindMotion works, with screenshots. And why change takes time is covered in Change takes time.

Frequently asked questions

Try our prototype

MindMotion is still in development, and we want to improve it together with you. The prototype is free and works without sign-up. Start the Mind-Check, discover which patterns lie behind your conflicts, and tell us what helps and what is missing.