Inside STAT: To make better therapy apps, developers take a page from Pixar

(ALEX HOGAN/STAT)

When it comes to mental health apps, having one that can back up the claims it touts may only be half the battle. Developers also need to get patients to stick with the app — and that’s where design comes in. Take Daylight, a therapy app for those with anxiety. Its creator, Big Health, hired the usual suspects like psychologists, product managers, and software engineers. But in what may be a shift from the norm, the team also included podcasters, animators, and screenwriters, some from Pixar and “Radiolab.” “A lot of what we’re doing from, from scripting to the animation, is really about trying to show that we really understand what you’re going through,” said Kelvin Kwong, VP of product at Big Health. Read more from STAT’s Megan Thielking.