Apps for the Mind

Sorting through the 10,000+ mental health apps is an exercise in frustration. This short list highlights the ones that proved their benefits in clinical trials.

Side effects can include headaches, eye strain, annoyance… and data privacy breaches. Make sure you are comfortable with the apps privacy policy before using.

Depression

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) apps guide you through one of the most effective treatments for depression: Moodivate ($) and Happify ($).

Rejoyn is a prescription app that combines CBT with a brain training game.

Intellicare is a series of free apps that were funded by the National Institutes of Health to treat depression

Walk at Home. Brisk walking treats depression. That’s faster than a walk, but slower than a jog, 45 minutes every other day. It’s best outdoors, but if you can’t leave home try these video guides: walkathome.com (or search for “happy walk” or “walk at home” on YouTube).

Anxiety & Depression

Mindfulness: Headspace ($), Insight Timer, Smiling Mind, and Healthy Minds.

Deep Breathing: Breath2Relax.

Rhythmic Breathing is a meditative type of breathing that improves brain health. Daily practice can treat depression when antidepressants don’t work. See below or search for “rhythmic breathing” or “Sudarshan Kriya yoga” in YouTube.

Anxiety

DayLightRx is a prescription app that offers CBT for generalized anxiety.

AnxietyCoach ($). Developed by the Mayo Clinic, this app guides you through effective tools for anxiety and worry.

Agoraphobia Free helps break the paralyzing anxiety that keeps people from leaving the house.

Panic Attacks: Panic Relief is good if you can find it. A newer option is Dare.

PTSD Coach . Designed by the National Center for PTSD, allows you to track your symptoms, provides tools for handing stress when it arises, and links to immediate, human help.

Stress Management

Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) brings together some of the top stress-management techniques. Though designed for borderline personality disorder, it’s helpful to anyone with high stress. Apps include DBT Skills Coach and DBT Diary Card.

ADHD

I’m short on apps for ADHD, but a good skills-building workbook is Mastering Your Adult ADHD.

Stay Focused is a google extension that helps you to limit time on addictive websites.

Many with ADHD use the Tile system to locate keys, phones, and all the things we misplace.

Sleep

CBT for Insomnia is the #1 recommended treatment for insomnia, often outperforming sleep meds. Try it through CBT-i Coach, Sleepio, or my own audio guide, the Pocket Psychiatrist.

Apps can measure your sleep at night, though they give only a rough approximation based on your movements: Sleep Cycle, SleepBot, and Sleep Time.

Dawn simulators: These use your phone’s flashlight to wake you up with a virtual sunrise. Rise and Shine (Peter Matthews), Dawn Simulator (Aaditya Garg), Dawn Simulator (AppFinery), and Gentle Wake Up for Andriod (Dr. Alexander Rieger). App lights are cheap and portable, but not as good as the real thing.

Mood Charting

Mood charts tell us more about what to do with medications than a brain scan. eMoods gets good reviews from patients, or use this paper-and-pencil version.

Art by AI

Med Reminders

Medisafe Pill and Med Reminder

Online Therapy Programs

Depression: Mood Gym

Anxiety: eCouch

Bipolar: MyCompass

Mindfulness

Suicide: Read This First. Or the suicide hotline: dial 988.

Parenting Skills

Parenting Strategies.net

Triple-P Parenting

Love and Logic

Brain Training

These are a bit over hyped. Apps with brain games do sharpen memory and cognition, but only to a small degree. Good sleep and aerobic exercise (20-30 minutes a day) have bigger effects.

Surprisingly, much of of this research supports dexterity games like wii Sports and wii Fit rather than intellectual ones. You can get that kind of brain training in the natural world, through table tennis, darts, weaving, or a musical instrument.

The brain likes variety, so make these a small part of your day (20-30 minutes/day).

EndeavorR x is a prescription game for ADHD. It feels like Mario Cart, but with a major difference. It automatically shuts off after 20 minutes of play per day.

Cognitive training apps with research support include Lumosity, Elevate App, Brain HQ, and N-Back Game (this last one is free, and it improved IQ in one study)

THINC-it is a free program that combines many of the top neuropsych tests. Use it once a month to monitor improvement in cognition while starting new therapies (works best on laptop).