For a long time I resisted getting a smart phone. I had what a woman jokingly referred to as a “dumb phone.”

Now that I have an iPhone I’ve quickly come to embrace the idea that a cell phone can be a useful therapy tool.

For one it can be a way for a person to be outside their apartment interacting with others in public in a better way.

You can go to a cafe and have a latte and use your cell phone to surf the internet or read an e-book.

It can be helpful when you dine in a restaurant and are waiting for your food to arrive: using the cell phone while you wait can distract you from other diners.

Research on a cell phone device loaded with therapeutic prompts has indicated people with severe mental illnesses who used the device had good outcomes after exiting a hospital.

The benefit to having a cell phone is that if you have a job and get overwhelmed on the job you can go outside for 10 minutes and talk to someone on your cell phone.

What’s not to like about a smart phone if you can afford it?

A friend recommends Credo–a cell phone provider that is as far left politically as a company get apparently. I used a carrier that could let me keep my old number.

I say: research a low-cost smart phone option.