I stumbled upon Clearmind on Future Tools, a website that lists AI-driven apps available online. I was surprised that Clearmind prides itself as the world’s first AI therapy tool. Think of it as an AI-driven app for mental health.
This is not sponsored content. I’m just writing what I thought about Clearmind as I’ve been using this app for a few weeks now.
The Clearmind App
So I went to the website to check it out. The only option for me to sign up or login is by using my Google account. Once I had the account, it opened a dark screen with a menu on the left side that says:
- Express
- Clearmind (Plus)
- Trends
- Memories
- Chat with Clarity (Soon)
- Ask an expert
- Install App
- Sign Out
I’ll get back to this menu later.
On the right side is a space where I can write my thoughts and feelings. Clearmind encourages you to be as detailed as possible. It also has an option for me to use the speech-to-text tool by clicking the microphone icon. But I won’t be using that because first, I prefer writing and second, I don’t have a good mic on my laptop. (No, I’m not using a cell phone.)
After writing down my thoughts, I clicked on “Try Clear”. But it didn’t do anything (Or so I thought).
So I scrolled down a bit and saw four icons, namely: Your Moodcard, Your Meditation, Your ToDo, and Your Analysis.
Moodcard
I clicked on “Your Moodcard”. It says, “A compact and shareable summary of your mood”. Wait for it to generate its output. (I’ll tell you about this later, too.) The output on the left is a photo based on the tone and mood of what I’ve written. It has my name, a title and indicates my mood. This image can be shared on social media if ever I feel like it. But I don’t think I would like sharing my daily mood on social media.
Beside the image is a summary that looks like this (Note: this is an example from my past writings):
- Mood: Well-rested
- Trigger: Alarm failure
- Focus: Productivity
- Personality: Reliable multitasker
- Mental profile: Organized achiever
- Environment: Home office
- Habit: Morning rituals
At the bottom is a “See you again message” which is like a cheer-me-up statement.
Meditation
Then I clicked on “Your Meditation”. It shows a paragraph of a 20-minute guided imagery script that I could use for my visualization or meditation exercise for the day. It also has a play button if ever I decide to listen to it instead. However, I found the sound too AI-ey just like those text-to-speech app voices available online. There was even an instance that the play button didn’t work.
To Do Checklist
Next, I clicked on “Your ToDo”. Based on what I’ve written, it provided a goal and an actionable checklist. It broke down my thoughts into tasks. THIS is what enticed me to use Clearmind! I liked the way it broke down my thoughts, rants, and feelings into an over-all goal, sub-goals, and actionable tasks in checklist form.
Analysis
Next, I clicked on “Your Analysis”. It is sort of Clearmind’s letter to me about its understanding of my thoughts and feelings based on what I’ve written. It could be like what a therapist would say to make me feel better. Of course, there is a disclaimer which says, “Note: This cannot be considered as medical advice. Please consult your therapist if you continue feeling distressed.”
Other Recommendations
Scrolling down a little, I saw “Hyper-Personalized Recommendations”. These are additional recommendations like a song, a podcast, a recipe, a movie, a TED talk, a travel spot, a blog post, and a book excerpt. According to Clearmind’s note at the bottom, “these recommendations are tailored to provide a sense of reflection, motivation, and inspiration”. It aims “to enhance your mood and alleviate stress by offering unique perspectives and insights.” Actually, I just look at them in a “just-so-I-know” way and never click on them. I’m already satisfied with the first four features.
The Menu
Now let’s go back to the menu on the left side bar. At this point, “Express” and “Clearmind (Plus)” are the same. I’m beginning to think that “Express” is a free version and “Clearmind Plus” is a pro or paid version. Let me know if I’m wrong.
Trends
When I clicked on “Trends”, it went to a page that showed two intuitive AI-driven graphs that kept tabs on my mental well-being for the past week, month, or year.
One graph is the “Happiness Indicators” which shows moments of joy, optimism, and activity. The other graph is the “Stressors” which highlights my stress, anxiety, and depression levels for the past week, month, or year.
I find this cool because I could see my own ups and downs in a graphic way.
Memories
Next, I clicked on “Memories”. This is an archive of what I’ve written since I started using the app. Unfortunately, if I clicked on a past memory, I could no longer see all the recommendations for that day. So nowadays, I copy and paste the results on my notes so I have a record of what Clearmind said.
Clarity
Clicking on “Chat with Clarity (Soon)” will not bring any result. But I’m sensing that they are developing a chat-bot named Clarity that will act as “an affordable therapy at your fingertips.” Would I be talking to a chat-bot about my feelings? Hmm… maybe not. I’m good with writing it on “Express” and let Clearmind generate its insights. But that’s almost the same, right? Hmm… I don’t think so.
If designed well, AI tools can aid in early detection, evaluation, and treatment of psychiatric illnesses and may possibly help with prevention efforts as well.
Rashmi Parmar, MD, a psychiatrist with Mindpath Health
Ask an Expert
Next up on the menu is “Ask an Expert”. When I clicked on it, it went to a page with space where I can write down my questions or anything that bothers me. There are two buttons: “Ask AI” on the left and “Ask an Expert” on the right. I tried typing a question and clicked on “Ask AI”. It immediately provided the answers and it also gave the source where most of the answers came from. It’s like using ChatGPT. I’m not sure if the Clearmind team is thinking of moving this feature to be included in their Clarity chat-bot.
When I tried clicking on “Ask an Expert”, a hover text said “Coming soon”. I’m thinking that the Clearmind team is looking for professionals (licensed psychiatrists, psychologists, psychometricians, therapists, etc.) that they could include or feature in the app.
Next in the menu is “Install App”. I prefer the web version of anything so I didn’t click it.
And the last item on the menu is the sign out button.
My Thoughts
Let’s go back to the right side and explore the bottom part of the website after the recommendations. It is a space where you could write your feedback to the Clearmind team. In fairness, they are quick to respond.
One time, after 10 days of using the app, I experienced a glitch. The result of the “Your Meditation” section was jumbled as if there were two guided imagery scripts entangled in one paragraph. So I sent this as a feedback and they immediately apologized and promised that they will act upon it. Of course, not everything is done instantly. This fix would take days or even weeks.
But I was able to figure out a “fix” on my end. First is writing my thoughts in one paragraph. If not, the app will probably consider the paragraphs as two entries thus it provided two answers but in a jumbled form. Another tip, once I clicked on “Your Moodcard” I waited for the message “Generating insights”. Because if I clicked on it more than once, it may provide two answers in jumbled format, too. Also, if you did not click on “Try Clear”, clicking on “Your Moodcard” or any of the other icons will not work.
So what are my thoughts on the Clearmind app?
One question is why the only option to sign up or login is via Google. What if I use another email that is not Gmail? Isn’t that excluding non-Gmail users? Just asking.
How about privacy? According to its website, it has an “end-to-end encryption that’s on by default.” Meaning my data and the memories I wrote down on the app are safe on their servers. But what if bad hackers decide to screw things up? Also, there is a study that focused on the ethics of AI in mental health care. This study discussed self-monitoring, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), and data mining when using artificial intelligence and Big Data analytics on mental health.
Another question is: can AI be used in the field of mental health? Although Clearmind provided links to a few studies on their website, I would say that AI can probably help if it is used as an aid for medical professionals to come up with their conclusions, diagnosis, or recommendations. But to rely heavily on AI in terms of therapy? I’m not sure of that. Human connection is still important in therapy. The doctor-patient relationship and the face-to-face interaction are what makes therapy effective. I don’t think the general population would be comfortable interacting with a AI psychiatrist.
According to an email from Clearmind’s founder and CEO, Anika Beri, the app is still in its beta stage. Thus, I still expect glitches here and there. Just like the “Ask AI” section, the answer provided started with “Bold, Heading1 Size:” before the title.
By the time this app is fully launched, I suspect that this would be a freemium app, meaning having a free plan with limited features and a paid plan with its full features. At this point, I’m not sure if I’m willing to pay for an app like this. So far, I’m liking this free version for my daily morning journal.
Let me know your feedback and tell me what you think. Also, subscribe and join the tribe.
