Apps That Support Mental Health

Moodfit

What I like about it: Moodfit because is a free app that helps you track your moods and gives you exercises to help address negative emotions. 

Cost: Free

PROS

  • Adaptable based on your goals

  • Ability to track daily progress

  • Visual insights with actionable exercises

  • Daily reminders to keep you on track

  • Customizable based on your needs and goals

CONS

  • Lacks access to professional help

  • May lead to self-diagnose

  • Some advanced features have additional costs

  • Tracking moods can be time-consuming

  • Lack of progress may cause feelings of frustration

Available on GooglePlay, Moodfit is a free mental health app with tools and insight meant to “shape up” your mood. Similar to the way you might decide to get into physical shape, this app is meant to help you get into mental shape.

Whether you’re looking to better understand your feelings, or you’re experiencing anxiety, depression, or high levels of stress, Moodfit is designed to help you feel better. There’s a questionnaire that will help you determine the severity of the symptoms, as well as many articles and audio files that can help you better understand what you’re experiencing.

Moodfit also allows you to track your moods. Over time, you’ll better understand what types of things affect your feelings—like sleep, medication, and exercise. The app offers actionable insights into what affects your mood and provides strategies for feeling better.

There’s a cognitive behavioral therapy portion of the app that can teach you how to dispute overly negative thoughts and a thought record that provides strategies for modifying irrational thoughts so you can learn how to think differently. You’ll also learn new skills, like gratitude and mindfulness, in just a few minutes per day. 

You can even use the app to create and test your own experiments. For example, if you suspect a certain food (like gluten) may be affecting your mood, the app allows you to track that.

Mood Mission

What I like about it: MoodMission is research-backed and gives you missions to help improve your mood and mental health skills. 

Cost: $5

PROS

  • Developed by mental health professionals

  • Supported by randomized-controlled trials

  • In-app rewards to increase motivation

  • Mood-boosting activities when you are low or anxious

  • Evidence-based CBT activities for depression and anxiety

CONS

  • Initial questionnaire can be overwhelming

  • Options are limited to pre-selected "missions"

  • Does not include access to professional help

  • Requires regular use for increased personalization

  • Some of the activity options may be time-consuming or difficult

MoodMission is an app that is meant to help people who are dealing with stress, anxiety, or depression. The app recommends “missions” based on how the user is feeling.

Monash University is conducting research on the app and how it affects users. To help them gather data, users are asked to complete six surveys (that take about five minutes each) before unlocking the app. Survey questions cover topics such as emotions and general well-being.

Each “mission” is an activity meant to improve your mood or skills. Missions may include things such as:

  • Emotion-based activities like breathing exercises

  • Behavior-based activities like learning how to knit, crochet, or sew

  • Physical activities such as push-ups

  • Thought-based activities such as learning how to reframe negative thoughts

Simply select how you’re feeling (such as anxious, depressed, or neither) and then identify how distressing your emotions are. Choose from a list of options to best identify the problem you’re experiencing, such as “I can’t stop thinking about something” or “I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

Based on your responses, the app suggests five different missions. Each mission contains objections and an explanation of how the activity may help. You can then choose to accept a mission. After completing the mission, rate how distressed you feel.

There’s a mission log that shows all completed missions and you’ll be assigned ranks as you progress through the app. The goal is to identify simple but effective strategies for boosting your mood. 

TalkSpace

What I like about it: Talkspace stands out because it connects you to a wide network of mental health professionals and is well-known across the board.

Cost: Varies based on plans, but starts at about $65 for unlimited messaging therapy

PROS

  • Ability to talk to a licensed mental health professional

  • Therapists can diagnose and treat different conditions

  • Good range of available price options

  • Numerous ways to communicate with your therapist

  • Conversations are private and secure

CONS

  • More expensive than some other apps

  • Not appropriate for severe mental health issues

  • Limited range of therapeutic approaches

  • Therapist communication styles may not suit your needs

  • Therapist evaluation surveys can be aggravating

Talkspace connects you with a licensed mental health professional so you can receive therapy from your digital devices (computer, tablet, or smartphone). All of the therapists at Talkspace have over 3,000 hours of clinical experience and they’ve been carefully trained to provide online therapy.

Therapists often have specific training in areas such as cognitive behavioral therapy, existential-humanistic approaches, dialectical behavioral therapy, psychodynamic, and mindfulness. 

For $65, you can get unlimited messaging therapy with your therapist. You can send text, video, and audio messages to your therapist whenever you’d like and you’ll get a response one to two times per day five days per week. If you’d like to have a live conversation, you can request to schedule a video chat. For $260 per month, you’ll get unlimited messaging plus one live session with your therapist each month. Talkspace also offers a one-week free trial.

All conversations carry over from one device to another and the app uses banking-grade encryption to keep your dialogue safe and confidential.


Sanvello

What I like about it: : Sanvello provides cognitive behavioral therapy tools to help treat mild to moderate anxiety and depression. 

Cost: Basic version: Free; Premium: $9

PROS

  • Effectiveness backed by research

  • Costs may be covered by health insurance

  • Provides different options based on your needs

  • Allows you to connect with peers who understand what you're going through

  • Ability to access a licensed therapist when you need more support

CONS

  • May not be appropriate for severe mental health conditions

  • Requires a monthly subscription to access advanced features

  • Premium add-on features such as coaching and psychotherapy can be pricey if not covered by insurance

  • Lack of clarity on the credentials of "coaches"

  • Therapy option is not available in all states

Sanvello’s mission is to “help people build the life skills they need, anytime, anywhere, in any way they choose.” It provides clinically validated techniques for dealing with stress, anxiety, and depression. 

In a randomized study of 500 adults with mild to moderate anxiety and depression, the tools offered by Sanvello (formerly known as Pacifica) were shown to decrease symptoms.1 The effects lasted even after participants stopped using the app.

When you download Sanvello, you’ll be asked to track your mood on a daily basis. The app provides simple questions that help you label your emotions and identify patterns in your mood. Sanvello provides users with cognitive behavioral therapy tools. These teach mindfulness skills and provide mood and health tracking tools that can be used to improve mental and physical health. There are also guided journeys that may help you feel more in control of your life

The app will also help you build lifelong skills that can help you build confidence and feel better. In addition, you'll find tools that can help you cope with specific issues, such as public speaking, test-taking, and morning dread. The app provides progress assessments that can help you track where you are and set goals for the future.

There’s also a community that allows you to connect with another anonymously where you can share advice, ask questions, or talk to others who understand what you’re going through.

Sanvello is available on Google Play and in the App store. There’s a free version of the app and the premium version is $8.99 a month. The premium version grants full access to all of the in-app digital self-care content, such as the guided journeys and meditations.

Calm

What I like about it: Calm stands out because it offers flexible programs and exercises that help manage anxiety.

Cost: Calm offers a 7-day free trial with an annual membership for around $70. Or, if you want meditations for life, you can pay about $400 for indefinite access to the app.

PROS

  • App offers more individual exercises

  • Less structured

  • Calming sounds in background

  • Simple to follow

CONS

  • Need a subscription

  • App isn’t the most intuitive

Calm makes meditation easier by offering a number of audio classes and programs covering getting better sleep, breathing exercises, relaxation, and mindful movements. It also offers a number of relaxing sounds and music that you can play while you meditate or try to nod off to sleep.

Unlike some of the other meditation apps, though, Calm is geared towards beginners and people experienced in meditation alike. The app is easy to use and provides lots of helpful information on learning how to meditate and destress, no matter where you are in your journey. Plus, the app offers a seven-day free trial so you can test it out before committing.

Sessions range in length to suit your schedule with some as short as three minutes and others as long as an hour.

Happify

What I like about it:  Happify made our list because of its science-backed games that help you reduce stress, build resilience, and overcome negative thoughts. 

Cost: Plans begin at $15 per month.

PROS

  • Great activity integration focusing on a variety of individualized goals

  • Different tracks that focus on specific areas of life

  • Developed by experts including therapists and coaches

  • Helps you better understand your moods and emotions

  • Encourages you to feel more present and live in the moment

CONS

  • Many options are only available if you purchase the premium option

  • The free version offers limited options

  • More expensive than many other mental health apps

  • The challenges and deadlines can be stress-inducing

If you’re looking for a fun app that will keep you engaged while also boosting your mood, Happify might be your best choice. Happify is all about playing games. But every game is a science-based activity meant to reduce stress, build resilience, and overcome negative thoughts. 

The activities were developed by positive psychology experts who are familiar with evidence-based cognitive behavioral therapy interventions. While the ultimate goal is to make you happier, the app lets you decide which track you’d like to work on, such as:

  • Coping better with stress

  • Fueling your career success

  • Achieving mindfulness through meditation

  • Conquering negative thoughts

  • Building self-confidence

The free version of Happify gets you access to some of the information. For full access, you’ll need to purchase a plan which starts at $14.99 a month. You can access the activities and games on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. The games only take a few minutes to complete and creators want users to know “small slices of time can make big-time changes.

The creators of the app report that 86% of people who use the Happify app report feeling better about their lives in two months. 

Kitty Schur