Should I Build It Should I Build It
19 Apr 2025
Health

duolingo like app for cognitive behavioral therapy and other ...

...treatments/tools

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space where many have tried and, frankly, haven't quite nailed it. The idea of a Duolingo-like app for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mental health tools has been explored by others, indicated by the 10 similar products we found. This puts you firmly in a "Swamp" category, where numerous mediocre solutions already exist, and standing out will be a challenge. Engagement for similar products is low, averaging only 3 comments per product, which suggests a lack of strong user enthusiasm. There's no strong positive or negative signals for use or buying interest, which is neutral but points to an uphill battle in convincing users of your app's value. Given the existing landscape, you need to offer something dramatically different to succeed. Otherwise, user acquisition and retention will be extremely difficult.

Recommendations

  1. First, dive deep into understanding why the existing CBT and mental health apps haven’t truly resonated with users. Read through user reviews, analyze their features, and identify the gaps they leave unfulfilled. Focus on criticisms from similar products, such as concerns about originality and the necessity of professional guidance. What are users explicitly complaining about? Can you solve these complaints?
  2. Next, identify a very specific niche within the broader mental health space that is currently underserved. Instead of targeting everyone, focus on a particular demographic (e.g., college students, new parents) or a specific condition (e.g., social anxiety, postpartum depression). This targeted approach will allow you to tailor your content and features more effectively and stand out from the general noise.
  3. Consider creating tools or resources that can be integrated into existing therapy practices rather than directly competing with them. This could involve developing modules or exercises that therapists can assign to their patients as homework, potentially easing concerns about replacing professional care.
  4. Explore adjacent problems or related areas that might be more promising. For example, instead of focusing solely on CBT, you could consider incorporating mindfulness practices, habit tracking, or community support features. Think about elements that could enhance or complement the core CBT experience. Be creative. Do you even need to focus on CBT?
  5. Given concerns about the safety and ethics of using AI in mental health as seen in the Elysa comments, if you are considering incorporating AI, prioritize transparency and user privacy. Clearly communicate how AI is being used, what data is being collected, and how user information is protected. Consider involving mental health professionals in the development process to ensure ethical considerations are addressed.
  6. Carefully consider your go-to-market strategy. Given the number of competitors, organic reach alone is unlikely to be sufficient. Develop a clear plan for user acquisition, whether through partnerships with therapists, collaborations with mental health organizations, or targeted advertising campaigns. Given the sensitive nature of the category, do not do anything shady.

Questions

  1. Considering the criticism that similar apps lack originality, how will you ensure that your app offers a genuinely unique and effective approach to CBT and mental health support?
  2. Given the concerns about the ethical implications of AI in mental health, what specific safeguards will you implement to ensure user safety, data privacy, and responsible use of AI technologies in your app?
  3. With multiple competitors in the market, what is your plan to acquire your first 1000 users? Given the challenges in this market, how do you plan to make them LOVE your product?

Your are here

You're entering a crowded space where many have tried and, frankly, haven't quite nailed it. The idea of a Duolingo-like app for cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mental health tools has been explored by others, indicated by the 10 similar products we found. This puts you firmly in a "Swamp" category, where numerous mediocre solutions already exist, and standing out will be a challenge. Engagement for similar products is low, averaging only 3 comments per product, which suggests a lack of strong user enthusiasm. There's no strong positive or negative signals for use or buying interest, which is neutral but points to an uphill battle in convincing users of your app's value. Given the existing landscape, you need to offer something dramatically different to succeed. Otherwise, user acquisition and retention will be extremely difficult.

Recommendations

  1. First, dive deep into understanding why the existing CBT and mental health apps haven’t truly resonated with users. Read through user reviews, analyze their features, and identify the gaps they leave unfulfilled. Focus on criticisms from similar products, such as concerns about originality and the necessity of professional guidance. What are users explicitly complaining about? Can you solve these complaints?
  2. Next, identify a very specific niche within the broader mental health space that is currently underserved. Instead of targeting everyone, focus on a particular demographic (e.g., college students, new parents) or a specific condition (e.g., social anxiety, postpartum depression). This targeted approach will allow you to tailor your content and features more effectively and stand out from the general noise.
  3. Consider creating tools or resources that can be integrated into existing therapy practices rather than directly competing with them. This could involve developing modules or exercises that therapists can assign to their patients as homework, potentially easing concerns about replacing professional care.
  4. Explore adjacent problems or related areas that might be more promising. For example, instead of focusing solely on CBT, you could consider incorporating mindfulness practices, habit tracking, or community support features. Think about elements that could enhance or complement the core CBT experience. Be creative. Do you even need to focus on CBT?
  5. Given concerns about the safety and ethics of using AI in mental health as seen in the Elysa comments, if you are considering incorporating AI, prioritize transparency and user privacy. Clearly communicate how AI is being used, what data is being collected, and how user information is protected. Consider involving mental health professionals in the development process to ensure ethical considerations are addressed.
  6. Carefully consider your go-to-market strategy. Given the number of competitors, organic reach alone is unlikely to be sufficient. Develop a clear plan for user acquisition, whether through partnerships with therapists, collaborations with mental health organizations, or targeted advertising campaigns. Given the sensitive nature of the category, do not do anything shady.

Questions

  1. Considering the criticism that similar apps lack originality, how will you ensure that your app offers a genuinely unique and effective approach to CBT and mental health support?
  2. Given the concerns about the ethical implications of AI in mental health, what specific safeguards will you implement to ensure user safety, data privacy, and responsible use of AI technologies in your app?
  3. With multiple competitors in the market, what is your plan to acquire your first 1000 users? Given the challenges in this market, how do you plan to make them LOVE your product?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 10
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 3
  • Net use signal: 21.9%
    • Positive use signal: 23.9%
    • Negative use signal: 1.9%
  • Net buy signal: -1.9%
    • Positive buy signal: 0.0%
    • Negative buy signal: 1.9%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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