Mobile apps bridge the time patients spend in the therapist’s office with the time when they have only themselves to rely upon. What then would serve as a better soother than the ubiquitous smart phone that is never more than a few feet away from its owner? Apps can help patients with many different problems, such as anxiety, nicotine dependence, and even drug addiction.
In general, mental health apps are like mobile journals. They help users track moods, thoughts and events, helping them to relate experiences to the therapist when they return to the office. These apps also help patients reflect on their experiences in a more concrete way, giving them a solid record to go by.
Therapists are benefiting from these apps as well. They find the apps give them extra information about the patient’s life when not in session. He calls it “a therapist in your pocket.”
Stress
Researchers are discovering that stress is a killer. It plays a role or is responsible for myriad medical disorders. Stress apps are important to any one’s health, but can be especially helpful for those suffering from high blood pressure, mental health disorders and heart conditions. Stress apps offer breathing exercises, visualizations and other strategies for reducing tensions. Some of the most popular stress apps are:
- iBreathe
- Mobile Therapy
- Relax & Rest Guided Meditations
Anxiety
One of the most helpful treatments for anxiety includes CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Apps can help patients track their thoughts moods and experiences and gain more insight into their anxiety triggers. CBT apps act as coaches, helping patients to turn negative thoughts into positive statements. By having a record of mood changes, patients can connect cause and effect, building self-awareness. This puts them in control of their emotions, instead of letting their emotions control them. Popular CBT / Anxiety apps include:
- eCBTMood
- CBT Clam
- iCounselor
Quit Smoking
For some, a mobile app can be the extra motivation they need. Working with a counsel helps, but an app can make treatment more effective. Apps can help quitters celebrate accomplishments by showing how long it has been since they last smoked and how much money they saved on the cost of cigarettes. Some apps helps smokers gradually lesson the number of cigarettes they smoke by setting increasing timers for between cigarettes. Others simply help users track the number and timing of their smoking throughout the day. Useful apps include:
- Since iQuit
- iQuit
- SmokeTrack
Drug Dependence
Apps can help patients recovering from drug addiction in several ways. Some apps include support for 12-step programs while others use cognitive therapy, affirmations or mediation. Each of these types of apps can be useful in its own way. The most useful addiction apps are:
- Pocket Sponsor
- iPromises
- Anne- 12 Step Program Apps
Jessica Bosari writes for TherpistSchools.com. The site helps students find the right schools and answer questions about relational therapy salaries, behavioral therapy schools and more.
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thanks for bringing them into my knowledge, now i can use them at any debate because the points you raised are very useful.
The real life in because of mental health. we welcome all activities that are milestone for mental health.
Mental health is really important to everyone. Those are cool apps and will help a lot of people by just installing it in their mobiles. See, how technology helps and make our life easier. Well, thank you for sharing this apps. Got to install some of those you have mentioned.
“iPromises” nice app name to recovering from drug addiction
“SmokeTrack” really a great app 🙂
Has there been any positive effects and improvements to those who have used these apps? They’re pretty interesting…
Uhhh where’s the Im on sitting in front of a beach mental relaxation app? Isn’t vacations apart of mental health? Nice List.
Hi there,
I had no idea that there are such great mobile apps ready to improve my health. I would definitely check them out especially that one – Quit Smoking.
Many Thanks
Arthur
Great post, Jessica. You may also be interested in our new mood improvement app, MoodKit. It’s a psychologist developed, comprehensive CBT app with four integrated “tools” to improve overall well-being. It’s even designed to help enhance professional therapy with exportable mood charts, journal entries, etc. Thanks for taking interest in such an important area of app development. moodkitapp.com
No one wants unhealthy body, so these tips are very applicable as our guide to take care our heath and to have a healthy body. Thanks for your post.
Every body is in need of health and we welcome these application that are very useful for heath.
I never thought about medical apps.
This is really useful. I like the anti-stress app that helps turn negative thoughts into positive ones.
And the app for quitting to smoke that counts how many days you haven’t smoked and how money you have saved. Great stuff!
“iPromises” nice app name to recovering from drug addiction
I should stop smoking.
I know it costs me a lot of money, but it might give me a stronger incentive to stop smoking if I know exactly how much.
It is great to see all these applications that are making our lives easier.
But it is making us a bit more stupid. For example I used to know at least 15 telephone numbers. Now I only know my own.
This is nice.. well at least they have been thinking how they could get people healthier and not just to get them to play games and waste time..
This is an interesting post. I have downloaded almost 40 mobile apps on my phone and keep looking for more:) The only problem is that you need to update them whenever that update icon starts ticking, else you won’t be able to use them properly.
Hi,
This is healthful topic giving tips how to do in order to have a healthy and strong body. It is good to use as basic steps so that good condition of our body is possible to reach.
No matter how physically strong a person is, once he is tired mentally, he goes weak. I’m glad that there are several mobile apps that could strengthen us mentally and could improve our mental health.
Okay, this is going a bit too far. I know that people love their apps, but it has gotten to the point where companies are being a bit deceptive about the actual usefulness of their products. I don’t know that any of these products would work for for the majority of consumers.
Love love love angry birds when I’m stressed out. Pretty mindless game but helps a lot. 🙂
Check out our new app, Confidence Coach. It is designed to help the user build their confidence and self-esteem using techniques drawn from cognitive-behaviour therapy. You can find out more about the app on our website, www .i-therappy.com.
I like very much the stress application as I am facing computers whole day. I just hope that there is more gadget that acts as a stress reliever coming to market so that we could buy it.
Don’t forget iCouch CBT and the Livestrong stop smoking apps. Both are fantastic.
Wow these are fantastic. I never knew there were so many interesting mental health aiding apps. I do use some softwares like Neuro Programmer on PC but never thought of getting a similar app for my phone! 🙂
I highly appreciate your articles. It has got such an exceptional view. I would be very much interested to read such more informative draft from you ahead.
Such an effort will really be helpful for readers like me. Keep up the good work.
I’m the developer of a suite of CBT apps. They were developed in conjunction with a Clinical Psychologist and they are all available for the iPhone – they are all listed at http:// cbtapps.com
Our most popular one is Thought Diary Pro – it’s available at http: //happtic.com/portfolio/thought-diary-pro
This suite of applications have also been featured in CBT Today, the UK’s leading CBT Industry Magazine.
I love how useful apps have become. We really are living in the future are we? All these in the palm of one’s hand! I would like to know of any good reviews for these apps. I was just thinking if these could also be an app that counts one’s carbon footprint, a “green app” if you may. Interestingly, one of the best apps that I never see any promo for but is so important is the flashlight app. This app seems to be a must have for any Smartphone nowadays. Anyway back to the topic, apps that help you to quit smoking is extremely useful for someone like me.
These mobile apps are really useful because they are made readily available around the clock and some are even offered for free. Patients can use these apps as their daily journals which they can then show to their therapists so as to enable a more precise and detailed diagnosis. Should any of the patients encounter any unwanted circumstances like medical malpractice for example, then their journals can help them track their medical journey to further support their condition.
I am just so happy about all these apps that are coming out these days. They are so exciting and brings joy to life. Life may get boring sometimes and we all need something new everyday. It is great to know that they contribute to our behavioral health. That sounds really cool!