Chatbot-Based Mood and Activity Journaling for Resource-Oriented CBT Support of Students

A high prevalence of mental health disorders among students combined with a lack of sufficient psychological counseling and treatment options makes new approaches to mental health support necessary. One possibility to strengthen the resilience and mental well-being of students in a scalable, low-threshold approach is the use of chatbots. While numerous work exists on chatbot-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), the acceptance and usability of a resource-oriented approach to chatbot-based CBT has thus far not been investigated. Moreover, existing chatbot-based systems use a categorical model for the tracking of emotional states, thereby limiting the complexity of tracked emotions. This paper presents a chatbot-based approach for the tracking of dimensional emotional states and activities in the scope of resource-oriented CBT support for students. The developed concept and system are presented and investigated in a single-arm user study focusing on the usability and acceptance of the system with the primary target group (N=9). Results indicate excellent usability and good acceptance with some room for improvement for future iterations of the system.