Twelve years into a struggle with bulimia and anorexia, Jessie Joachim says she still feels guilty whenever she tells her therapist out loud that she has purged a meal.
But a smartphone app designed for people with eating disorders and body image issues has given her another way to stay accountable: Along with seeing a therapist each week, she uses the app to record whether she purges or restricts how much she eats each day and completes exercises that teach her new coping strategies — all while exchanging messages with a coach trained and certified in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
"When I was doing well, it was rewarding," says Joachim, 22, of her experience using the app. "When I wasn't doing well, it was like looking in a mirror — it made it harder to ignore."
A growing technology sector is creating coaching, counseling and monitoring services for teens and young adults fighting eating disorders, depression, anxiety and other mental health issues.
[For more of this story, written by Lorraine Sanders, go to http://www.npr.org/2015/01/13/...ccess-to-mental-help]
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