Apps are constantly coming to market for simplifying our lives and eradicating difficult or time-consuming issues. With smartphones and tablets omnipresent, it should not be surprising to see the focus of apps expand, from games, maps, social networks and restaurant reviews, to helping users cure whatever ailment they may be facing. One dedicated therapist has embraced this new frontier technology has made possible by spending three years developing an app to assist her patients. It’s called Live OCD Free, and she hopes it will help people struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder to practice resisting their compulsions wherever they are in the world.

Dr. Kristen Mulcahy specializes in treating OCD using Exposure Response Therapy, which has the patients resisting obsessive compulsions for some length of time. It starts with a very short period, and then increases with their success. So if a patient is compulsive about washing their hands, they would have to do something that would trigger their issue, such as opening a door, and then wait for five or ten minutes before heading to the sink. It’s shown to be effective, but takes repetition and dedication. That’s what inspired Dr. Mulcahy to design the app.

Live OCD Free is now available to download in versions for children and adults for $79.99. Once a patient opens the app, they start by filling out a schedule for the tasks that regularly cause them anxiety, as well as rating the level of anxiety each task causes. The app issues a reminder when it’s time to practice, and then runs a countdown of the time they have to wait before performing the compulsion. Once the session is complete, the patient then rates how anxious the waiting period actually made them. The app charts their progress over time, and hopefully shows a decrease in anxiety level. When the patient no longer feels any anxiety at the task, Live OCD Free moves him up to something he rated as harder.

The main menu is easy to navigate, offering the user the chance to practice (plainly stated in the adult version, but set up as a game with a Wizard and a Sage in the children’s app), as well as take advantage of tips, meditative music, relaxation techniques, and the ability to connect with their therapist. According to Dr. Mulcahy, this app will give her patients the chance to move through their therapy more quickly and effectively, as they’ll have a coach always in their pocket instead of just in a once-a-week session.

A patient using Live OCD Free can work with their therapist to set up instant reporting, so the therapist is aware of usage and results, but anyone can download the app and use it in their daily lives, with or without seeing a professional therapist. And that difference could be the key to helping many people who either can’t afford or can’t physically get to a therapist. Mulcahy feels the best option would be for those patients to try to have at least one session with a therapist and come up with a plan, and then use the app to implement it themselves. In a small sample test of five patients who downloaded the app and set their own strategy, they saw a 26% decrease in symptoms over five weeks. It’s an incredible example of technology truly being used to help make someone’s life better. Hopefully more app reviewers talk about this on their social media platforms, so as many people as possible who need it discover it for themselves.

Editor’s Note

Evan Fischer is a contributing writer for GetShared.us the premier company for all of your social media management needs.

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