/EINPresswire.com/ -- SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 6, 2017) - Woebot Labs, Inc. today launched Woebot, the world's first mental health chatbot, backed by scientific research. Woebot is an accessible, personalized, and affordable treatment option for the millions of people suffering from mood-based mental illness, such as depression and anxiety disorders. As part of the launch, the company also published a study led by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine in the Journal of Medical Internet Research Mental Health, which demonstrates Woebot's ability to decrease symptoms of depression and anxiety during a two week period.

Mood-based disorders are a widespread and growing issue that currently affect 1 in 5 Americans. Woebot is designed to connect with users on Facebook Messenger, acting as a personal therapist to help address users' mental health challenges. Through natural, personalized, and human-like conversations, users can get the emotional support they need and learn practical strategies to change the way they think about events in their lives. The smart chatbot is available anytime, anywhere, and offers accessible mental health care to those who need it, all at a fraction of the cost of traditional therapy.

"Most people don't have access to therapy today," said CEO and founder, Dr. Alison Darcy. "Barriers, like cost of treatment and social stigmas, have prevented people from getting the help that they need. Woebot represents a new era in digital therapy. We built Woebot to give people a customized therapeutic experience and the functional tools they need to manage something incredibly personal."

While some mental health and wellness apps exist, few have been scientifically tested or supported by clinical research. Woebot is the result of years of research in cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), coupled with sophisticated AI conversational technology.

In a peer-reviewed randomized controlled study, researchers assessed Woebot's impact on a group of individuals suffering from anxiety and depression. The study randomized 70 undergraduate and graduate students and asked them to engage with either Woebot or a self-help ebook over a two-week period. The results demonstrated that AI-based conversational frameworks are able to successfully deliver CBT, the most effective treatment for mood-based disorders. Furthermore, students who used Woebot self-reported a significant reduction in their symptoms of depression and anxiety, and also reported that it made them feel empathized with, ultimately deepening their personal awareness, and emotional insight (Fitzpatrick, Darcy & Vierhile, 2017).

Woebot is currently available in Facebook Messenger at m.me/drwoebot. Users can immediately begin using Woebot for a free 2-week trial.

About Woebot Labs, Inc.
Woebot Labs has created the world's first mental health chatbot supported by clinical research trials. The global mental health care epidemic is growing at an unprecedented rate. Woebot was founded to address this crisis with tools to make therapy accessible and stigma-free for millions of people suffering from anxiety, depression and other serious mental health issues. Woebot has been empirically proven to significantly reduce depression and anxiety after just two weeks. Woebot is currently available on Facebook Messenger at m.me/drwoebot.

Woebot Labs, Inc., is headquartered in San Francisco, CA. For more information, please visit woebot.io or follow Woebot on Facebook and Twitter.