Apr 21, 2022
Americans spent a record 3.8 trillion hours on mobile apps during 2021. That's an average of 4.1 hours a day on a mobile device, a 30% increase from the previous year.
With how prevalent phone use is, mental health professionals can leverage the power of technology to aid their clients’ progress and treatment organization. Research shows mental health apps work because they are user-friendly, increase engagement in treatment plans, and make it easier to monitor symptoms. They work so well there are now approximately 10,000 to 20,000 mental health apps available.
When doing a quick search for mental health apps for therapists to use with clients, it's easy for both clients and clinicians to feel overwhelmed. We've sifted through some top-rated options, so you don't have to. In choosing what would make our list, we considered what features were available and if they were evidence-based.
This simple app helps users practice mindfulness and meditation. With series addressing stress, sleep, anxiety, focus & productivity, relaxation, centered fitness & tension release, there's something for every experience level and lifestyle. Users can choose between short 3-minute mini-meditations for a quick mental shift or longer meditations for profound impact.
Therapists are unable to follow along with their clients’ progress within the app itself, but this could also lead to discussions in therapy on barriers that might come up during meditation practice.
Key Features:
Price: $12.99/month or $94.99/year
Rating: 4.9/5
Dailyo is a journaling app that helps set daily goals and track moods. Users can select an emoticon that best represents their mood and add notes on their daily activities. When the app detects a pattern, it pinpoints trends where moods decline and offers suggestions on how to bring it back up.
This app does not allow therapists to track their client's progress or moods automatically. However, some app users have utilized the graphs generated in the app during therapy discussions to help facilitate discussion and remember details regarding their moods between sessions.
Key Features:
Price: $23.99/year
Rating: 4.8/5
Developed by two clinical psychologists, this app is based on the ideologies and methods of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). With over 200 activities, users receive specific steps to reduce negative feelings and enhance well-being—track moods, negative thoughts, and stress management with an in-app journal.
Therapists do not have direct access to their client’s usage or journaling. However, by using the app, clients will be better prepared for sessions and can refer to their journal or symptom tracker during sessions to help facilitate discussion and treatment plans.
Key Features:
Price: $5
Rating: 4.3/5
Offering various meditation programs, Calm helps users sleep, relax, and practice breathing exercises. Beginner and experienced meditators are provided information to learn how to destress and meditate, no matter where they are in their journey. Sessions range from 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 minutes long to accommodate any schedule.
While this app helps encourage or reinforce positive thinking practices, particularly for those with a solid meditation or mindfulness base, therapists do not have direct access to monitor their client’s progress or usage.
Key Features:
Price: $15/month, $70/year, or lifetime subscription for $400
Rating: 4.8/5
This app tracks moods, mental illness symptoms, medications, sleep, exercise, food intake, and social interaction. Clients can share charts tracking activities and their emotional impact with practitioners to track patterns and determine if a treatment plan works. Information can also be linked to the client’s Apple Health Kit if they are iPhone users.
This app does not allow therapists to track their client's progress automatically. However, clients do have the option to send information to therapists or physicians directly from the app.
Key Features:
Price: Basic version is free; the premium subscription is $5/month or $28/year.
Rating: 4.7/5
Designed by therapists for therapists, the Noble app provides crafted between-session support. Therapists assign a pre-created Roadmap based on the client's unique situations and needs, guiding them through automated lessons, action items, and assignments, increasing the effectiveness of one-on-one sessions. Topics currently include healing from betrayal trauma, addiction recovery, and managing anxiety.
Noble is an app for therapists to use with clients directly. Not only are clinicians able to assign specific roadmaps based on their client’s needs, but they can also monitor progress, approve action items, and provide extra support through messaging all from within the app.
Key Features
Like the apps listed above, Noble provides:
The app also includes:
Price: Clients pay a monthly fee. You set the price and keep 100% of the money!
Rating: 5.0/5
Mental health apps are fantastic, convenient tools to help boost moods, build coping skills, support journaling, and provide informational resources during healing.
There are more apps for therapists to use with clients on the market than ever before. Utilizing the best apps as part of a therapy plan can help clients practice evidence-based exercises for between-session support, leaving more time during one-on-one sessions for focused work.
Noble aims to continue growing and developing quality materials to help build out better between session care. We support mental health professionals and patients to stay on track while logging progress. By enabling patients and counselors to continue care outside of sessions, Noble is paving a smoother path to healing.
Contact Noble today if you have questions about integrating our platform into your practice.
Join for free and start using Noble today!