If you are looking for a convenient, affordable, and effective way to improve your mental health, you may want to check out Youper. This is a teletherapy and behavioral coaching app that uses cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques to help you manage anxiety and depression.
Youper combines the power of CBT with artificial intelligence (AI) to create personalized and engaging mental health solutions for you.
In this article, we will explore how Youper works, its benefits, its features, what users say about it, and how you can get started today.
An overview of cognitive behavioral therapy
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the most common and evidence-based forms of psychotherapy. It is based on the idea that our thoughts, feelings, and actions are interconnected. By changing one of them, we can influence the others.
For example, if you have a negative thought like “I’m worthless,” you may feel sad and hopeless, avoiding social situations or activities that could make you feel better. CBT helps you break this cycle by teaching you how to recognize and challenge these negative thoughts, replace them with more positive ones, and cope with difficult emotions and situations in healthier ways.
CBT has been proven to be effective in treating various mental health conditions, such as anxiety disorders, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), eating disorders, and substance use disorders.
The science behind Youper’s conversational interface and analysis
Youper is not just a regular chatbot. It is an AI-powered mental health platform that uses natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) to understand your emotional needs and recommend evidence-based behavioral interventions.
NLP is a branch of AI that enables computers to analyze and generate natural language, such as speech or text. ML is a branch of AI that enables computers to learn from data and improve performance without explicit programming.
Youper uses NLP and ML to create a conversational interface that mimics human-like dialogue and provides feedback and guidance based on your responses. Youper also uses NLP and ML to analyze your mood, thoughts, behaviors, and progress over time and provide you with insights and reports on your mental health status.
The benefits of Youper’s adaptive and responsive system
One of the main benefits of Youper is that it adapts to your needs and preferences. Youper does not follow a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, it tailors its content and interventions to your goals, challenges, personality, mood, and feedback. For example, the chatbot will prompt you about how you feel or help you identify your current feelings.
Youper also responds to your messages in real-time, so you don’t have to wait hours or days to get a reply from a therapist or coach. You can chat with Youper anytime and anywhere, whether you need a quick check-in or a longer session.
Youper can be combined with other apps and devices, such as Fitbit or Apple HealthKit. This enables you to track your physical activity, sleep quality, heart rate variability (HRV), and other biometric data affecting your mental health.
To find out what apps you can integrate with Youper on your device, log into the app and click on your profile, then click on the settings wheel at the top right corner of the screen. Tap ‘Integrations’ to see what apps come up and so that you can activate them.
The features of Youper’s CBT toolbox and library
Youper offers a variety of features that can help you improve your mental health using CBT techniques. These include a:
Mood tracker: This simple tool lets you record your mood throughout the day using emojis or words. You can also add notes or photos to describe what influenced your mood.
Thought journal: This journal t helps you identify and challenge negative thoughts. You can learn how to reframe your thoughts using positive affirmations or gratitude statements. Your journal can also be used to list your goals or motivations.
Meditation: You can find meditation and mindfulness exercises in the app’s ‘Explore’ section. l You’ll be guided through various meditation exercises, such as mindfulness and breathing meditation. . You can also choose your meditation sessions’ duration, voice, and background music to make them feel more personalized.
Emotional fitness: This tool provides daily exercises that boost your mood and resilience. Exercises include cognitive restructuring (changing negative thoughts into positive ones), behavioral activation (doing enjoyable activities), exposure therapy (facing your fears), problem-solving (finding solutions to your challenges), etc.
Daily reminders: The app notifies you at certain times of the day (you can choose when) to remind you to track your mood.
What users say about Youper and how it has transformed their lives
Youper has received positive feedback from many users who have experienced its benefits firsthand. According to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Youper was rated as an effective app, with users’ symptoms of anxiety and depression decreasing within the first two weeks of signing up.
Here are some testimonials from real users who have shared their stories on the Youper website:
- Stella: “Youper uses cognitive behavioral therapy techniques, but asking questions and learning what works for you makes you feel at ease and supported. It cannot replace a real therapist, but it is undoubtedly an excellent place to start.”
- Andrea: “I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety my whole life, especially since the pandemic. A friend recommended Youper, and I decided to give it a shot. Within two hours, I felt completely grounded and much more clear-minded.”
- Paige: “It’s not like talking to a real person, but it’s close. I’ve been in therapy before, and it sometimes feels very judgmental, but Youper gets rid of all that and saves the helpful knowledge and support. I love this app.”
HealthyMinded gives Youper the thumbs-up for convenient e-therapy and self-care
If you want to try Youper, you can sign up for an account on the website or download the app from the App Store or Google Play Store. Although the app is free, once you download it and start using it, you’ll be prompted to try a free seven-day trial, which is a great way to help you explore all of its features.
But, after the trial, you’ll be charged $69.99 per year (or $5.83 per month). You can cancel your membership at any time.
Once you sign up for an account, you can chat with Youper, the AI bot, who will guide you through the app’s features and interventions.
We think Youper is a great option for anyone who wants to improve their mental health using CBT techniques in a convenient, affordable, and effective way. Youper can help you change your mindset and mood by providing personalized and engaging mental health solutions powered by AI.
Here are some things we loved about Youper after downloading the app:
- The ‘check-in’ button lets you get things off your chest to the chatbot, which will ask you questions to help you figure out what you’re going through and what you can do to feel better. This feature makes a quick check-in possible throughout your day without a hassle.
- After five check-ins on the app, you’ll get to see insights about your mental health process. This can help you learn more about yourself and see how you’re improving over time.
- Tons of self-care activities enable you to take your mental wellbeing into your own hands, such as by offering guidance on the topics of work, relationships, self-esteem, and stress. You can access tips to help you stop worrying, relax, and stop falling into a negative thinking loop.
What we didn’t like:
- You’ll only be able to get one or two answers from the chatbot before you’re told that you need to sign up for a free trial. This can be frustrating, especially if you need assistance quickly.
- The app sometimes takes long to load pages.
Final Thought
If you’re looking for quick and convenient CBT-based teletherapy, Youper is an effective app to try. However, if you have a more complex mental health concern or you’re facing a crisis, you should consider other support, such as in the form of traditional therapy with a qualified and licensed professional. In such cases, though, you can still use Youper as an additional resource to have up your sleeve for days when you need some self-care on the go.
