Legality of Giving Advice for a Mental Illness In an App?
Hello, I intend to make an application to help sufferers of borderline personality disorder, as I have a vast pool of experiential knowledge and wisdom I've accumulated on this over the years.
The thing is though, I'm not a licensed therapist.
Am I going to run into any legal trouble (US) by giving advice and treatment advice regarding this illness, showing sufferers how to treat their disorder?
Do I need to mention any disclaimers? Or perhaps it's just not doable legally, which would be a shame, because I feel like I can help alot of people.
Does anyone have any insight regarding this?
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Hi, can i get your email? I want to discuss similar idea
Hi Bob! Sounds like an important project. I think the other commenters are correct that lawyers would know the ultimate answer to this question. That said, I think that there is probably a great deal that you could do in an app that would offer real value without risking litigation.
For example, if your app helped people track their sleep patterns, or journal, or use CBT templates, those things could all be done without going into the realm of 'advice' that would normally only be offered by a clinical professional. Even if your app went further, and perhaps had an alert if your user slept far less than was typical for a set number of days, and the alert included a list of the symptoms of mania and encouraged the user to contact their healthcare team if they thought they might be experiencing a manic episode (just picking a random mental health event here), I think that could be done without risking legal trouble because you're not telling the person what to do, you're simply offering information that could be relevant to their situation. In any instance in which your app was set to alert, that alert could always direct the user to consult with their healthcare team. THAT advice I think you could always make without putting yourself in harm's way.
On the other hand, if you offered advice like "Don't take medicine", that would definitely be problematic.
Yes, disclaimers. You're not a clinical professional. Your app is not a substitute for consulting with clinical professionals. But you're the guy who can build an app, and has experience with the disorder, and that means you ARE in a unique position to create a tool that could help other people.
If you would like to discuss this in more detail, just lmk.
Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer. I've never even played one on TV.
As arstan said, I don't think this is something someone on IH can answer unless they happen to be a lawyer. I think you should get proper legal advice from a professional who will be able to tell you what you can and can't do, otherwise I think it would fairly risky.
I think you should reallllyyy consult local lawyers on this