Mental Health Apps to Help You Take Back Your Life

2019 is the year of wellbeing, and there are many apps tha t can help you maintain your mental health. Whether it be communicating with your doctor, socializing with other peers for support, mindfulness, or chatting with an online counselor, these apps are here for you. We’ve cultivated a list of the best mental health apps! 

Counseling Apps

Professional counseling can be vital to mental health. Your counselor is not only someone to talk to when  things aren’t going well but also someone who can help you understand your feelings and develop the right coping skills. We’ve created a list of counseling apps where you can speak to a certified counselor through an online app. These apps can range in price and level of certification — which we have easily shaped out for you! 

The first app is BetterHelp. BetterHelp is the largest counseling platform. BetterHelp provides easy, confidential, and inexpensive access to a licensed counselor. Professional counseling is available online through a computer or mobile device.  

You’ll be asked a few questions and then paired with a licensed counselor through the app. The cost of counseling through BetterHelp ranges from $40 to $70 per week (billed monthly). You can cancel your membership at any time for any reason. 

7 Cups 

If you are feeling drained, down, or upset 7 cups may be the perfect app for you.  It provides online therapy and emotional support for anxiety and depression. There are over 160,000 listeners and licensed counselors who are available 24/7 to anonymously speak to.  

You can freely speak your mind and talk to listeners without the fear of being judged. These listeners have experience in different specialties such as depression, anxiety, bullying, eating disorders, relationships, and many more. This is all done in a confidential setting one-on-one. 

Talkspace 

Talkspace is a counseling and therapy app that connects users with a convenient, inexpensive, and private way to deal with their mental health issues. A free appointment is provided with an agent to identify which counselor is best for your needs.  

These therapists have experience with anxiety, depression, bullying, domestic violence, PTSD, OCD, and more. Talkspace’s pricing plan is 80% lower than traditional office-based appointments and in the comfort of your home due to it being remote.  

Other Mental Health Apps

Counselors can teach you coping skills , but your counselor can’t be with you 24/7. Luckily, there are many apps that help you develop coping skills as well. We’ve also found these mental health apps that help with mind, body, and mood journaling for overall mood. 

Calm ($12.99/month or $59.99/year)  

Calm is a meditation app designed to reduce stress, anxiety, improve sleep, and overall help you feel happier. Calm focuses on the main areas of meditation such as breathing, sleep, and relaxation.  

This mental health app includes guided meditations that help you de-stress as well as breathing programs. These help users with mind, body, and overall sleep quality. Calm is the perfect app for new users and old users of meditation. Sessions are available between 3-25 minutes. 

Headspace ($12.99/month or $94.99/year)  

Headspace focuses on mindfulness and meditation for its users. This mental health app’s mission is to provide you with the tools to ultimate happiness. There are multiple guided meditations for the user to choose from to help with sleep, anxiety, depression, and more mental health-related illnesses. The goal is to increase overall mental wellness. Whether you need to reduce stress, build healthier relationships, or simply need to build a mindful life, Headspace is for you.  

Moodnotes 

Moodnotes is a thought and mood diary. This mental health app helps you to write down your feelings and improve your train of thought. Moodnotes helps to improve your thinking habits with CBT and positive meditations.  

Through the app, you learn errors in your thought process and ways to rethink situations. If you happen to be stuck in your thoughts, Moodnotes will provide ideas and perspectives to reduce anxiety and enhance well-being. You can view your progress in the insight’s dashboard. 

Moodpath 

Moodpath can fit in your pocket as a mental health companion. Many patients suffer from life situations and concerns about their mental health. This mental health app’s mission is to support you through the difficult times in life and guide you through it.  

Moodpath assesses your mental health and screens for symptoms of anxiety or depression. The process aims to alert you of thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Two weeks into the app, a document is produced to bring to your healthcare professional. There is a library of more than 150 psychological exercises to understand your mood and mental health. 

Pacifica 

Do you have anxiety or stress in your life? Pacifica is the mental health app for you. It provides a multitude of tools to deal with daily anxiety and stress. There is also a supportive community of similar-minded people. Pacifica helps to break the wheel of intrusive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors through therapy methods.  

These methods include CBT, DBT, mindfulness meditation (I.e.- Headspace and Calm apps), mood tracking (Moodnotes), and relaxation. The app brings up audio lessons and activities that help with depression and stress. There are also daily challenges to help you tackle anxiety and goals.  

SuperBetter 

Do you like games? Do you need something to ease the mind? Superbetter may be for you. Superbetter is a game focusing on increasing your strength and mental agility to remain strong, optimistic, and motivated when faced with life’s challenges.  

The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia conducted a study  and found that people who played the game for 30 days had improved mood and symptoms of anxiety and depression decreased.  

This mental health app will help you achieve your goals, decrease symptoms of anxiety and depression, improve coping skills, strengthen relationship skills, and plan for your future. Superbetter gives you a future of beating anxiety and depression by coping with chronic illness and recovering from PTSD.  

Happify 

Happify is the mental space patients need to overcome negativity, stress, and intense thoughts. The goal is to increase mental agility whether you are feeling anxious, sad, or stressed. Happify helps your thoughts and feelings and to regain control of them.  

Happify takes evidence-based techniques of CBT, mindfulness, and psychology. This mental health app offers games and happiness activities to improve overall life satisfaction and to rid negativity. The app also calculates your emotional wellbeing (happiness score), which you can improve on each week.  

If you are struggling with your mental health, perhaps one of these mental health apps could help you! You can also contact Serenity Mental Health Centers  to schedule an evaluation and start taking back your life!