Apps and Other Tools
** If you are experiencing an emergency and need immediate assistance, call 911 **
There are thousands of mental health, self-care and wellness apps available. Below are a few that may be useful depending on your needs.
5 Minute Journal (iOS, Android) – daily journal for gratitude, positive reflections, and photos. Costs $4.99.
ACT Coach (iOS, Android) – Free app that teaches users how to tolerate negative thoughts and feelings through awareness exercises with an extra focus on mindfulness.
Aetas (iOs, Android) – This free app offers mind-balancing exercises to help you relax, focus, and develop a sense of well-being. It offers meditations, guided visualization exercises, and a self-discovery quiz.
BoosterBuddy (iOS, Android) – Game-based self-care app offering self-care, medication and appointment reminders, mood tracking, and games to improve coping skills and socialization. Free app designed to help teens and young adults improve their mental health.
Breate2Relax (iOS, Android) – Created by the National Center for Telehealth and Technology, this app teaches users how to do diaphragmatic breathing (i.e., breathing down into the low belly). There are educational videos on the stress response, logs to record stress levels, and customizable guided breathing sessions.
Calm (Web, iOS, Android) – Guided meditations accompanied by natural soundscapes. The initial 7-Days of Calm, unguided sessions, some guided sessions and tracking features has no cost. A subscription which provides access to the entire Calm catalog costs $12.99/month, $59.99/year, and $299.99 for a lifetime subscription.
Calm Harm (iOS, Android) – A free, DBT-based app designed to help users manage the urge to self-harm.
Daylio (iOS, Android) – A free app designed to track daily mood and activities to help people better understand their habits.
DBT Diary Card and Skills Coach (iOS) – This app works as a daily mood and thought diary based on the dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) approach. It has a coaching module that gives tips on sticky emotional situations, like how to ask for what you need or how to successfully resolve conflict. Users get positive reinforcement when they’re consistent with their entries. Cost is $6.99.
Depression CBT Self-Help Guide (Android) – This app is based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It helps people monitor dips in their mood and learn about clinical depression and treatments. You can also try guided relaxation techniques or learn strategies to challenge negative thinking.
Habitica (Web, iOS, Android) – Gamified habit tracker and to-do list. Includes monthly self-care challenges from Take This.
Happify (Web, iOS, Android) – The app includes an array of engaging games, activity suggestions, and gratitude prompts to make Happify a useful shortcut to a good mood. Its website links to bonus videos that are sure to make a person smile. Price can range from $10.99 to $19.99.
Headspace (iOS, Android) – Paid, guided meditation program to assist with sleep, stress, and anxiety to increase happiness. A subscription which unlocks the full Headspace experience costs $12.99/month (1-week free) or $69.99/year (2-weeks free).
Mightier (Web, iOS, Android) – Paid, clinically-based games for kids with ADHD, ODD, autism, or anxiety. The program costs $75 for their 12-month plan.
MindShift (iOS, Android) – This straightforward stress management tool helps users rethink what’s stressing them out through a variety of onscreen prompts. The app encourages new, scientifically-based ways to take charge of anxiety and tune into body signals based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).
PTSD Coach (iOS, Android) – This free, 24-hour tool can be very valuable. It’s linked directly to support services. The app allows a person to select the specific issue they want to deal with, from anxiety and anger, to insomnia and alienation. The app then provides guidance on how to lift mood, shift mindset, and reduce stress.
SAM (iOS, Android) – The SAM (Self-Help for Anxiety Management) app lets you know what’s pushing you over the edge, so you can reel yourself back in. SAM’s approach is to monitor anxious thoughts, track behavior over time, and use guided self-help exercises to discourage stress.
Sanvello (iOS, Android) – Formerly called Pacifica, the Sanvello app teaches techniques for dealing with anxiety, depression, and stress. It is based on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). It teaches through a combination of videos, audio exercises, interactive activities, and mood and health habit tracking. Sanvello is integrated with Apple Health, so you can input exercise, sleep, and caffeine figures, as well as track Mindfulness Minutes. There’s a free version and a premium version for $8.99/month. The premium version grants full access to all of the in-app digital self-care content.
SleepCycle (iOS, Android) – Sleep tracking and alarm clock to help you achieve the best sleep possible and wake up feeling rested. There is a free-version and a premium subscription that costs $29.99/year.
Stop, Breathe, Think (Web, iOS, Android) – This app helps individuals cultivate mindfulness, which can improve your mood, lower stress, and help you feel more compassion toward yourself and the world. As an added bonus, this app can also improve your focus.
Stress and Anxiety Companion (iOS, Android) – This app can help make the wellness process a lot easier by guiding you through proven techniques to reduce those off-kilter thoughts and emotions while cultivating a much more present mindset. There is a monthly companion subscription ($1.99) and a yearly companion subscription ($13.99).
SuperBetter (Web, iOS, Android) – A free, gamified app designed to increase resilience and encourage good habits in teens and young adults.
Virtual Hope Box (iOS, Android) – Provides coping methods and tools for veterans and others in conjunction with your therapist. Designed by the U.S. Department of Defense.
What’s Up (iOS, Android) – A free app with CBT and ACT-based tools for dealing with anxiety and depression.
Worry Watch (iOS) – This app enables users to track what kick-starts their anxiety, note their trends in their feelings, observe when the outcomes were harmless, and keep tabs on insights to stop future freak-outs. To lower your anxiety even further, Worry Watch is password-protected, so whatever you divulge in the diary feature is safe and sound.
Disclaimer Statement: Palm Cove Psychology Group, PLLC is not responsible for the content, claims, or representations of the listed sites and cannot attest to the clinical value of the material for any particular situation. The listing of a website is not an endorsement, but merely a source listing of informational sites that Palm Cove Psychology’s website visitors might find helpful.
