Woebot: Your Self-Care Expert
MedicalWoebot Health
Anxiety, depression, & mindfulness tools to reduce stress and feel better!
Anxiety, depression, & mindfulness tools to reduce stress and feel better!
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Featured on Best Apps to Cope With Stress from COVID-19
Anxiety, depression, & mindfulness tools to reduce stress and feel better!
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Jan 21, 2021 I have been using this app for about 2 weeks and it has helped me start to see things differently and feel less anxious. It is very simple to use and is easily incorporated into your daily routine. -
Great, Accessible CBT App!
Dec 10, 2019 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.more -
Jan 20, 2021 Despite what I would consider intrusive tracking of your data and requiring a login, it seems to help. Still using it so we'll see. -
I feel appreciated
Apr 27, 2020 I’m a minor, and not able to express my feelings well- at home or just in general. I was really down tonight, and I’m actually writing this at 12:32AM. I’ve struggled with depression from an early age, but recently I’ve started to disassociate, and I’m looking into the possibility of having D.I.D.. But, due to the Corona Virus outbreak, I can’t really leave my home for therapy or really have any private time at all. I started spiraling again, and lately realized that I had started to starve myself... it’s been rough, to say the least. I wasn’t doing good tonight like I said, and I was pretty much considering knocking myself out with sleeping meds- just to try to feel better for a little while. Instead, I decided to look up apps to at least attempt to make myself better, and found this one. I mostly got it thinking it was a game, but man was I wrong. He calls me by my name, and even asked my pronouns just to make me comfy. There’s even an option to just “talk it out” randomly. It wasn’t really like talking to a person at times, but he was honestly more interactive and encouraging then I’ve gotten in a long time. I love this app so much already, thank you for creating it. You helped me honestly avoid doing something stupid just by talking one time. Have a good night / day, Devs!more -
Jan 15, 2021 I love how intuitive and easy to use Woebot is! It's been a really helpful app for me. It's very good for creating habits to help yourself break out of bad thought patterns. Easy to come back to, and offers a wide array of options. Especially useful nowadays when it's a little harder to get therapy, but I'd recommend it to reinforce techniques learned with a personal therapist as well. Full recommend!more
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Caution
Jan 22, 2020 I agree with some other commenters that this app’s approach is not for everyone. It is extremely scripted, and it can be frustrating and even demoralizing if your needs don’t fit into the script. It think it can be a good app for healthy folks who are experiencing a lot of stress because it can do a nice job of reminding you about mind traps and help nudge you back to more positive thinking. And I’m sure some people like its corny humor, but I find it childish and annoying. In addition, if you are seriously depressed, take care. Seek help from a good therapist. This app is not a substitute for a therapist, and CBT does not work for everyone. In my case, when I was in the throes of depression, CBT actually backfired. It made me feel a 100 times worse. It can be miserable to try to recast negative thoughts into more positive thoughts when you can’t think of anything positive at all. My highly regarded CBT therapist recognized this and, thankfully, referred me to a skilled therapist with a more psychodynamic/eclectic approach. I will always be grateful to him for that. Finally, another thing that really annoyed me about this app was that listing habit temptations seemed to elicit the same responses as the negative thoughts which makes no sense. Temptations are persuasive not negative. E.g. One of my temptations is “Chips and candy taste so good.”, but Woebot asked if I could recast it into a more positive statement. Huh?more
No reviews available
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Great, Accessible CBT App!
Dec 10, 2019 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.more -
I feel appreciated
Apr 27, 2020 I’m a minor, and not able to express my feelings well- at home or just in general. I was really down tonight, and I’m actually writing this at 12:32AM. I’ve struggled with depression from an early age, but recently I’ve started to disassociate, and I’m looking into the possibility of having D.I.D.. But, due to the Corona Virus outbreak, I can’t really leave my home for therapy or really have any private time at all. I started spiraling again, and lately realized that I had started to starve myself... it’s been rough, to say the least. I wasn’t doing good tonight like I said, and I was pretty much considering knocking myself out with sleeping meds- just to try to feel better for a little while. Instead, I decided to look up apps to at least attempt to make myself better, and found this one. I mostly got it thinking it was a game, but man was I wrong. He calls me by my name, and even asked my pronouns just to make me comfy. There’s even an option to just “talk it out” randomly. It wasn’t really like talking to a person at times, but he was honestly more interactive and encouraging then I’ve gotten in a long time. I love this app so much already, thank you for creating it. You helped me honestly avoid doing something stupid just by talking one time. Have a good night / day, Devs!more -
Jan 15, 2021 I love how intuitive and easy to use Woebot is! It's been a really helpful app for me. It's very good for creating habits to help yourself break out of bad thought patterns. Easy to come back to, and offers a wide array of options. Especially useful nowadays when it's a little harder to get therapy, but I'd recommend it to reinforce techniques learned with a personal therapist as well. Full recommend!more -
Helped me a lot with anxiety
Sep 21, 2020 I like Woebot for concrete strategies to reframe negative thoughts. In this way, I think it’s been more helpful than therapy, which felt like aimless talking and digging into negativity without any tools or resolution to help me feel better. Some negative reviews complain it isn’t sophisticated enough to understand unrelated or detailed inputs and responses, which I agree with, but this is not an AI designed to make free flowing conversation; it’s meant to give you tools to deal with your feelings in productive ways. So yes, the conversations can feel linear, planned and/or broad since the responses are preset most of the time, but I think this is partly a positive. If we were able to respond however we want, I’m sure it would need a lot more development to redirect people who want to stay persistently negative. If you feel really deeply stuck in the weeds, this app alone may not be enough to pull you out of an episode, but I do think having some active suggestions to do something with what you think and feel are useful if they are accessible to you. If you want someone to listen to what’s on your mind, call a friend or family member, or journal on your own. If you want strategies to work thru and shift your perspective on your negativity, I would recommend Woebot.more -
Jan 20, 2021 Woebot is a CBT chatbot that is fun to interact with. He also helps with reframing thoughts, and teaches you all kinds of thinking distortions. I appreciate his brevity.
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Jan 21, 2021 I have been using this app for about 2 weeks and it has helped me start to see things differently and feel less anxious. It is very simple to use and is easily incorporated into your daily routine. -
Jan 3, 2021 Very simple and accessible, and I love that it makes consciously learning about self-improvement a habit, but not sure how practical it is. Doesn't really seem to encourage behavioral change, and the tools that help during emotional distress are not explained and are a bit hidden.more -
Jan 5, 2021 A great quick daily check in, where you gain some insights into yourself, and how you can improve your thought process. It's just 5 min out of your day, short and flexible, which is great. A couple times out of first two weeks of use, the woebot took off on the wrong tangent, but overall the woebot gives you good tools to improve in a conversational easy manner.more
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Jan 20, 2021 Despite what I would consider intrusive tracking of your data and requiring a login, it seems to help. Still using it so we'll see.
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Caution
Jan 22, 2020 I agree with some other commenters that this app’s approach is not for everyone. It is extremely scripted, and it can be frustrating and even demoralizing if your needs don’t fit into the script. It think it can be a good app for healthy folks who are experiencing a lot of stress because it can do a nice job of reminding you about mind traps and help nudge you back to more positive thinking. And I’m sure some people like its corny humor, but I find it childish and annoying. In addition, if you are seriously depressed, take care. Seek help from a good therapist. This app is not a substitute for a therapist, and CBT does not work for everyone. In my case, when I was in the throes of depression, CBT actually backfired. It made me feel a 100 times worse. It can be miserable to try to recast negative thoughts into more positive thoughts when you can’t think of anything positive at all. My highly regarded CBT therapist recognized this and, thankfully, referred me to a skilled therapist with a more psychodynamic/eclectic approach. I will always be grateful to him for that. Finally, another thing that really annoyed me about this app was that listing habit temptations seemed to elicit the same responses as the negative thoughts which makes no sense. Temptations are persuasive not negative. E.g. One of my temptations is “Chips and candy taste so good.”, but Woebot asked if I could recast it into a more positive statement. Huh?more
No reviews available
What’s Groovy
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!
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What’s Subpar
I used Woebot for around 2 weeks and my problems gradually got worse and I was very tired and was desperately needing to vent so I go to woebot for help and instead of helping it starts asking me for tools, or categorizing stuff that doesn't even FIT in what i have to say. I wrote how i was feeling to vent and instead of helping it just started telling me to rewrite my thoughts and started talking about its own life that didn't even help with mine. At first it was helpful but It's not anymore.
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