New Study Reveals Promise of Text-Based Mental Health Support App Counslr in Decreasing Barriers to Mental Health Support

Convenience and real-time accessibility of app may help remove obstacles in accessing mental health support

NEW YORK, April 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Counslr, a leading B2B mental health and wellness platform, announced today the publication of a new study in JMIR Formative Research titled “Evaluating User Engagement with a Real-Time, Text-Based Digital Mental Health Support App: Cross Sectional, Retrospective Study.” The study examined user engagement patterns with Counslr’s 24/7/365 text-based mental health application and found that the majority of users accessed support outside of standard business hours, suggesting that real-time, text-based counseling may help overcome structural barriers to mental health support. These findings provide preliminary evidence that Counslr’s model of delivering both on-demand and scheduled human based, text driven mental health support may play an important role in expanding access to mental health care support across users with a wide range of mental health needs.

“This research highlights the potential of real-time, text-based mental health platforms to address barriers to mental health support, especially by offering support outside traditional business hours. Our findings demonstrate how digital platforms like Counslr may help expand the reach of mental health services by meeting users where they are—both in terms of timing and modality,” said Edward Coffield, one of the study’s authors.

“Counslr connects users with licensed counselors via text which provides a flexible way for people to seek support. As healthcare systems face growing demand, scalable, human-supported digital tools have an important role to play in improving access; our finding that students and non-students used the app for a variety of mental health concerns, notably during non-traditional hours, illustrates the promise of apps such as Counslr in expanding access,” added co-author Khadeja Kausar.

Key findings from the research include:

• A majority of users accessed Counslr through on-demand sessions underscoring the value of real-time, immediate support for users seeking in-the-moment support.
• The average and median session times were 40- and 45-minutes, respectively, illustrating the possibility of high engagement through text-based support.
• Over 80% of the sessions occurred between 7 PM and 5 AM, highlighting Counslr’s ability to provide accessible mental health support during hours when conventional services are typically unavailable.
• Users accessed the app for a variety of mental health concerns, demonstrating the promise of a text-based app to connect users with licensed counselors across mental health concerns in both on-demand sessions and scheduled sessions, 24-hours a day.

“This meaningful research confirms what drives us here at Counslr in our mission every day: that in-the-moment support via text is breaking down common barriers to help silent sufferers prioritize their well-being” stated Counslr CEO Josh Liss. “Indeed, we have observed that 88% of our users had never previously engaged with mental health services, demonstrating our platform’s effectiveness in reaching people who have historically gone without support for one reason or another.”

View the full report on Evaluating User Engagement with a Real-Time, Text-Based Digital Mental Health Support App: Cross Sectional, Retrospective Study, here.

For media inquiries, please contact Kristen Nihamin at 917-509-9028 or kristen@counslr.com

ABOUT COUNSLR
Counslr is a text-based mental health support application that provides unlimited access to robust wellness resources and live texting sessions with licensed professionals, 24/7/365. Users can access support on-demand within two minutes of opening the app, or by scheduled appointment. Through real-time texting, users enjoy one-on-one, private communication with a licensed counselor that can be conducted anytime, anywhere. Counslr was designed to help individuals deal with life’s day-to-day issues, empowering individuals to address concerns while they are “small” to help ensure that they stay “small”. Counslr partners with organizations of all shapes and sizes (companies, unions, nonprofits, universities/colleges, high schools, etc) so that these entities can provide Counslr’s services to their employees/members/students at no direct cost. For more information, please visit www.counslr.com.