The Alexa skill, called The Difference, is the voice assistant’s first skill for mental therapy. Individuals with an Amazon Echo device can use The Difference to connect with a therapist within 30 minutes. The new service is still in beta.
The Difference is designed to help users manage and cope with “surface-level,” issues, and mental health professionals told CNBC that more scientific research needs to be done to determine whether mental health apps could serve as an effective replacement to in-person therapy appointments, according to the report.
Earlier this month, Amazon released Alexa skills that allow invited healthcare organizations to transmit and receive patients’ health data under HIPAA regulation.
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