A new smartphone app developed at Belmont\u2019s McLean Hospital<\/a> can target those thoughts, improving users\u2019 mental habits over four weeks, according to the results of a clinical trial published Thursday<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe point of the app is to make people aware and learn how to open up to other types of interpretations to make them less anxious and worried all the time,\u201d said Dr. Courtney Beard, senior author of the study and director of the Cognition and Affect Research Education (CARE) Laboratory at McLean Hospital, which is part of Mass General Brigham. \u201cWhat we wanted to do was intervene directly on that habit of thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n The app, called HabitWorks, includes weekly mood check-ins, short mental exercises, and a habit diary for tracking symptoms. It presents users with brief, personalized scenarios like this one: <\/p>\n \u201cSomeone mentions your fly is unzipped.\u201d <\/p>\n Users then select one of three reactions to the comment: \u201chumiliating,\u201d \u201ccommon,\u201d or \u201cthankful.\u201d <\/p>\n The more positive the interpretation, the more points users score. <\/p>\n HabitWorks is not yet publicly available and has a waitlist<\/a>. Beard hopes it will be available before the end of the year. <\/p>\n She added HabitWorks is not an app for people turn to when they\u2019re in distress, but rather something to set aside a scheduled time for.<\/p>\n \u201cSome apps are designed to help you in the moment and change how you\u2019re feeling,\u201d she said. \u201cThis one is designed to reshape underlying thinking habits\u2014core cognitive processes we\u2019ve studied for years.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that users are better able to reflect when they\u2019re not overwhelmed. Instead, the app works like a quick practice session, guiding users through 50 short, game-like scenarios in five minutes.<\/p>\n The approach appears to be working.<\/p>\n The study enrolled 340 adults across 44 states last year, randomly assigning participants to either use HabitWorks for four weeks or to a control group that completed self-assessment surveys tracking symptoms of anxiety and depression. Afterward, both groups were given self-report questionnaires to measure the effectiveness. By the end of the trial, those using the app showed \u201cgreater improvements in overall symptom severity and daily functioning,\u201d according to the study.<\/p>\n While many mental health apps see steep drop-off rates after initial download, 77 percent of HabitWorks users were still actively using the app at week four, and 84 percent completed the final assessment.<\/p>\n Beard developed the app alongside another clinical psychologist who designed it based on how people use their phones.<\/p>\n \u201cUnlike other apps that teach mindfulness, this is a different skill. This targets situations like your boss saying \u2018meet me in my office in 10 minutes.\u2019 We are teaching people through five-minute bursts to think more flexibly through therapeutic skills,\u201d said Alexandra Silverman<\/a>, the study\u2019s lead author and a psychologist at McLean.<\/p>\n Researchers said the app was developed as access to mental health care remains strained, with long wait times for appointments and many providers not accepting insurance. The goal was not to replicate therapy or replace physicians, but to complement it, making treatment more accessible through technology, Beard said. <\/p>\n \u201cThere will never be enough providers for those who need treatment,\u201d she said. \u201cThere are so many barriers to treatment pathways.\u201d<\/p>\n The researchers said there\u2019s no artificial intelligence involved in the app. An advisory board that included people with lived experience of anxiety and depression helped shape the app to be both evidence-based and user-friendly.<\/p>\n \u201cTreatments only work if people actually use them,\u201d said Lauren S. Hallion, a psychology professor at the University of Regina in Canada who was not involved in the study.<\/p>\n \u201cThe finding that participants used the app consistently, even when they weren\u2019t being paid, suggests that the study team met that important goal.\u201d<\/p>\n Because the study included people with a range of symptom severity, she added, the app may be especially useful for those who are generally doing well but want an extra mental health \u201cboost.\u201d<\/p>\n Hallion also pointed out that while app-based mental health tools aren\u2019t new, ongoing research is helping improve what works. Studies like this one are key to refining approaches and making them more usable in real life.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a lot of interest and investment in our field in finding the best ways to get mental health support to the people who need it,\u201d she said. \u201cThis isn\u2019t the first smartphone study, or even the first smartphone study to look at modifying interpretation bias. However, our technologies are getting better all the time, and we\u2019re always learning more about what kind of interventions are helpful to people and why.\u201d<\/p>\n Funding for the work came from a $700,000 multi-year grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. <\/p>\n Researchers caution that the app is still in the early stages of evaluation. They\u2019re still looking for a sustainable funding source and said it\u2019ll likely have a pay-to-use model. <\/p>\n \u201cThere are still things I want to know about it, who\u2019s it going to work best for, in what situations, and why, but it\u2019s ready to be released; we just need to identify sources of funding and keep it maintained,\u201d said Beard. <\/p>\n Sarah Rahal can be reached at sarah.rahal@globe.com<\/a>. Follow her on X @SarahRahal_<\/a> or Instagram @sarah.rahal<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/NXQB4TF5QI23I6IJQ3S2DZPTIY.jpg\")
A screenshot from the HabitWorks app. HabitWorks<\/p>\n