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Serenity: Guided Mental Health Review

Serenity: Guided Mental Health Screenshots
Credibility

Credibility

2.33 / 5.00

Overall Score: 7/15

Consumer Ratings: 1/2
Clarity of Purpose: 2/2
Mechanism of Action: 1/1
Software Updates: 2/2
Clinical Input in Development: 0/1
Research on Development Process: 0/1
Efficacy of Other Products: 0/1
Research Independence and Review: 0/2
Research Base: 1/3

Rating Date: May 2023

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User Experince

User Experience

3.73 / 5.00

Engagement: 3.20 Functionality: 3.56 Aesthetics: 4.33 Information: 3.83 Subjective quality score: 2.75 Perceived impact score: 3.21 Rating date: December 2020 Rated by: Queensland University

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Transparency

Transparency

Not Yet Available
Professional Reviews

Professional Review

Not Yet Available

Serenity is an app with a personal, mental health chatbot focused on helping its users overcome anxiety, depression, sleep problems, and the like. It is grounded in cognitive behavioral therapy, mindfulness, and positive psychology. The app allows you to personalize your profile and define your goal from a selection of choices, such as “mindfulness and relaxation”, “building resilience”, “tracking my mood” and more. Then, the self-care companion engages with the user through a text-based format, asking questions as well as providing feedback and guidance to the user’s problems. The user can choose to do a “check-in” with the app, learn CBT techniques, take a PHQ9 (quick depression assessment), or watch videos to learn how to cope. The app also provides Covid-19 tools, such as a log, journal, and the ability to track symptoms. There are also additional resources separated into distinct categories, such as “adolescent mental health issues”, “building self-esteem”, and “eating disorders”. The app provides a monthly and yearly calendar chart so the user can better see the trajectory and changes in their moods.

Technical Details

Type of Treatment: Cognitive Behavioral Principles, Mindfulness, Psychoeducation & Information, Symptom Tracking/Self-Monitoring
Targeted Conditions: Mood Disorders, Stress and Anxiety, PTSD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Phobias, Eating Disorders, Addictions or Substance Use, Sleep
Target Audience: Not Specified
Designed to be used in conjunction with a professional? Recommended
Languages Available:
Get it on: Apple App Store, Google Play, Web

Research on this App

This study is “A Review of Mindfulness-Based Apps for Children” where 1933 apps were found using the search term “mindfulness”. Of these, only 57 fit the three selection criteria: “apps should be in English, related to mindfulness, and suitable for children.” In order to be considered “good”, the app had to achieve a score of 4 or higher in all MARS dimensions. Serenity: Guided Meditation is one of the five apps that obtained a rating of “good”.

How we evaluate

We review apps against rating criteria developed by experts in the field. Some of those criteria are:

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Credibility

We look at the research supporting the technology and the credibility of the development process.

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Transparency

We review privacy policies to see if key pieces of information about what happens with entered data are addressed.

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User Experience

We explore how fun, functional, easy-to-use, engaging, and interesting the technology is.

ProfessionalReviews

Professional Reviews

A professional in a relevant field downloads and uses the technology and writes a narrative review, highlighting pros & cons and some recommendations for use.

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