Apps for the Mind

There are over 10,000 mental health apps on the market. Sorting through that pile is an exercise in frustration, so here is a list of the best. These apps proved their benefits in controlled clinical trials.

That means they probably help, but what about side effects, like headache, annoyance, or data privacy? Check the apps privacy policy, and look them up on MindApps, a reliable source for run by psychiatrist John Torous.

Depression

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

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

Brisk walking for 30-45 minutes a day is the type of exercise that treats depression. That’s faster than a walk, but slower than a jog. Enough to get your heart rate up by 10 beats per minute and your breath a little faster. Don’t want to leave the house? Try walk at home with video guides: walkathome.com or search for “happy walk” or “walk at home” on YouTube.

Anxiety & Depression

Mindfulness: Headspace ($), Insight Timer, Smiling Mind, iMindfulness ($), and Mindfulness Daily.

Deep Breathing: Breath2Relax.

Rhythmic Breathing is a form of meditative breathing that has significant antidepressant effects. When practiced daily, it helped people who didn’t respond to medications. Search in YouTube for “rhythmic breathing” or “Sudarshan Kriya yoga” to locate videos that can guide you through the practice.

Anxiety

Panic Relief guides people through effective skills for panic attacks including diaphragmatic breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation ($0.99 for full version).

Agoraphobia Free helps people out of the paralyzing anxiety that keeps them from leaving the house

AnxietyCoach ($). Developed by the Mayo Clinic, this app guides you through effective tools for anxiety and worry. It has research to support its benefits.

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

Stress Free

DBT Diary Card

DBT Skills Coach

ADHD

Tile: Allows you to locate objects you commonly mispace (www.thetileapp.com, requires the purchase of a tile-tag, approx $20)

Sleep

An effective therapy for insomnia can be learned through this free app: CBT-i Coach.

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

Dawn simulator apps. These use your phone’s flashlight to wake you up with a virtual sunrise: Rise & Shine, Lichtwecker.

Mood Charting

Tracking your mood is the best way to help plan and predict your medication response:

eMoods gets good reviews from patients.

BioAffect tracks mood through background measures like typing speed. It is a part of a medical research project, so users need to agree to allow their data to be used in that research.

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

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

Below are some that are supported by science. A small daily dose (20 minutes a day) is best. Many of the studies involve dexterity games, the kind of hand-eye coordination that you can get from table tennis, darts, or playing piano. Digital games work as well – the best studied of the bunch is wii Sports and wii Fit.

Lumosity

Elevate App

Brain HQ

N-Back Game (free; this one improved IQ points in one trial)

THINC-it (free; this app combines many of the top neuropsych tests into a brief, computerized version. It is useful for monitoring improvement in cognition while you start new treatments).