Mobile Apps and Useful Links

Note: Inclusion of these apps does not count as an endorsement, nor should they be used as a replacement for counseling or therapy. Apps may have options for purchasing premium features.

Self-help and therapy skills apps

• Happify: Happify is designed to reduce stress and increase happiness through daily quizzes, games, and activities. You can choose one or more "tracks" to tailor your experience, including goals such as combatting negative thoughts and building self-confidence. (iOS and Google Play)
• Woebot: The Woebot chatbot will coach you through tough times via chat by asking you what's up and offering CBT-based tips and exercises for you to try. (iOS and Google Play)
• MoodTools: MoodTools uses CBT-based strategies to help improve depressive symptoms. It also includes space for a safety plan if you deal with suicidal ideation. (iOS and Google Play)
• What's Up: What's Up has a bunch of tools based on CBT and ACT to help reduce anxiety, stress, anger, and more. You can also connect with other users via the app's built-in forum. (iOS and Google Play)
• PTSD Coach: The National Center for PTSD designed this app for anyone who has or could have post-traumatic stress disorder, whether they're currently in treatment or not. Some of its features include educational material, therapeutic tools, and information on professional care and support. (iOS and Google Play)
• COVID Coach: Created by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, this app is designed to support self-care and overall mental health during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. (iOS and Google Play)
• Rootd: Rootd is for those who've experienced panic attacks. It has a "panic button" which provides questions to help you move through moments of high anxiety. (iOS and Google Play)
• MindShift: In addition to teaching CBT skills to tackle negative thought patterns and combat perfectionism, MindShift also has tools for setting goals and forming habits. (iOS and Google Play)
• SuperBetter: If traditional mental health apps tend to bore you, SuperBetter might be able to keep your interest. It gamifies mental health skill-building and self-care, teaching you to be more resilient through a series of superhero-themed missions and challenges. (iOS and Google Play)
• Calm: App for Sleep, Meditation and Relaxation
• I Am: Daily affirmations help rewire our brains, build self esteem and change negative thought patterns. Empower yourself by verbally affirming your dreams and ambitions. (iOS and Google Play)

Mindfulness, meditation, & breath work apps

• Insight Timer: Insight Timer has an expansive library of free meditations and music tracks. (iOS and Google Play)
• Shine: Shine is a self-care app that has a collection of meditations and mindfulness exercises specifically designed to promote the wellbeing of Black people and other people of color. (iOS and Google Play)
• iBreathe: Deep breathing is a small but effective way to ease stress and anxiety symptoms. iBreathe helps guide you through these exercises and allows for customization. (iOS)
• Aura: Beyond its meditation offerings, Aura also hosts a mood tracker, gratitude journal, and an active community of both users and meditation teachers. (iOS and Google Play)
• Healthy Minds Program: The Healthy Minds Program app has meditations, exercises, and podcast-style lessons designed to build foundational mindfulness skills. Learn to gain focus, reduce stress, maintain positive social connection, and more through its science-backed teachings. (iOS and Google Play)
• Liberate: Meditations and talks designed for the Black community by the Black community
• Headspace: Meditations you can listen to anytime.
• MyLife: Stop. Breathe.Think.: Short mindfulness activities tuned to your emotions.

Tracking apps for mood, mental health symptoms, and habits

• Moodfit: Moodfit is a well-rounded app that supplements your tracking with educational material and tips. You set goals and log your activities and moods, and Moodfit sends you a weekly report to help you notice patterns and learn more about yourself. Reviewers also like how customizable it is—there are some predetermined moods and activities to get you started, but you can add your own too. (iOS and Google Play, free, or $10/month or $60/year for premium)
• CBT Thought Record Diary: The first step in fighting back against negative and anxious thoughts is recognizing them. For that reason, CBT therapists often recommend writing down your thoughts. Using this app, you can not only track your thoughts, but also learn to identify negative thinking patterns—also known as cognitive distortions—over time. From there, the app leaves space for you to challenge the thought and come up with alternative thoughts too. (iOS and Google Play, free, or $5/month or $30/year for premium)
• eMoods: Specifically designed for tracking moods and symptoms for bipolar disorder but helpful for a variety of mood disorders, eMoods packs a lot of data and features in a deceptively simple interface. It's especially useful for sharing info with your care team—you can easily generate printable PDF reports so they don't have to sign up for anything. (iOS and Google Play, free, or $5/month or $50/year for Enhanced and $10/month or $100/year for Pro)
• MindDoc: MindDoc allows you to track your mental health and generate reports, and reviewers also love how it provides personalized recommendations and exercises based on your data. Though it's designed with depression and anxiety in mind, plenty of reviewers are fans of it for monitoring eating disorders, bipolar disorder, and more. (iOS and Google Play, free, or $5/month or $48/year for premium)
• Stoic: Stoic bills itself as a "mental health training app," encouraging you to analyze your stresses and obstacles, then helping you create a plan to overcome them. It's part habit tracker and routine builder, part self-care and meditation app, and reviewers frequently describe it as "life-changing." (iOS, free, or $38/yearly for premium)
• Sayana: You kind of have to click through to get Sayana's whole vibe, but imagine that your warmest friend decided they wanted to take you on a journey of self-discovery and self-care. Its simple mood tracker aims to help you not only log your emotions, but also really understand and deal with them. On top of that, you can connect anonymously with the Sayana community. (iOS, free, or $10/month or $60/year for premium)
• Sober Time: Sober Time helps you stay motivated and inspired. It's a mental health app that tracks sobriety down to the second and updates in real-time. The clock ticks up the seconds, minutes, hours and days. There are more than 10 unique ways to display your progress with individual and community features. (iOS and Google Play, free)

Peer support apps

• NotOK: It can be difficult to ask for help when we're struggling, and NotOK aims to make that easier. You create a group of trusted contacts, like your family and friends. After they accept your invitation, you can alert them with a tap of a button when you could use their support. (iOS and Google Play)
• Solace: Solace matches you with a small text-based support group based on a questionnaire which aims to match you with people around your same age who are dealing with similar concerns (iOS and Google Play)
• Lyf: Lyf is designed to create a more positive social media community filled with everyday people and mental health professionals alike, all ready to discuss mental wellness, swap stories, and provide support. (iOS and Google Play)
• HearMe: HearMe aims to provides a place to vent where you can always count on connecting with an empathic listener. (iOS and Google Play)
   

Seize the Awkward: Talking to your friends about mental health.