  Mental health resources available via websites and mobile apps provide
support such as advice, journaling, and elements from cognitive behavioral
therapy. The proliferation of spoken conversational agents, such as Alexa,
Siri, and Google Home, has led to an increasing interest in developing mental
health apps for these devices. We present the pilot study outcomes of an Alexa
Skill that allows users to conduct depression and anxiety self-tests. Ten
participants were given access to the Alexa Skill for two-weeks, followed by an
online evaluation of the Skill's usability and trust. Our preliminary
evaluation suggests that participants trusted the Skill and scored the
usability and user experience as average. Usage of the Skill was low, with most
participants using the Skill only once. In view of work-in-progress, we also
present a discussion of implementation and study design challenges to guide the
current literature on designing spoken conversational agents for mental health
applications.
