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Which Mental Health Apps Actually Work? A Psychiatrist’s Top 9 Picks

October 29, 2024

The tech industry clearly cares about your mental health. At last count, you can find somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 mental health apps across your favorite platforms.

But you can ignore almost all of them.

“Most mental health apps are untested, lack any evidence they work, and are privacy risks. I wouldn’t recommend using most of them,” says psychiatrist Paul Weigle, MD, associate medical director at Natchaug Hospital.

However, a small but certain number of mental health apps have earned the trust of experts like Dr. Weigle.

9 apps that can actually help your mental health

“All of these apps show great promise,” says Dr. Weigle. “They have the potential to provide quality information about health and support healthy behaviors. And because they’re so accessible, they’re especially helpful for anyone who can’t access traditional care.”

Here’s the round-up, sorted by the goals they can help you achieve.

1. Best app for behavioral change: WYSA

AI chatbots seem to be the way of the future, and the one offered by WYSA coaches you through your mental health concerns using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), and other techniques.

The app also offers tools for things like mindfulness, sleep and breathing exercises, and offers access to real-life mental health coaches (not licensed therapists).

The bonus? WYSA emphasizes confidentiality and protects its user data with a number of different safeguards.

There is a free version, but many of the more in-depth features require a premium prescription that costs $11.99/month or $74.99/annually.

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2. Best app for mindfulness and meditation: Headspace or Calm

Headspace and Calm are popular apps that offer guided mindfulness and relaxation.

Headspace offers beginner-friendly guided meditation, sleep tools, courses and movement sessions, all aimed at improving your mindfulness and in turn, your mental health.

Calm has similar offerings with a focus on guided breathing exercises and themed meditations. The app also has a new meditation each day on a specific topic to promote consistent practice.

According to Dr. Weigle, both apps are often prescribed by psychiatrists, and Headspace has actually been proven to improve mental health.

Although both apps are free to try for a short time, they do require a paid subscription.

3. Best app for insomnia: CBT-I

CBT-I is designed to help you improve your sleep suing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques.

The app offers guided sleep strategies, sleep tracking and analysis, and exercises for reframing negative thoughts.

The best part is that the app is free and doesn’t collect your data, since it was created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

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4. Best app for trauma: PTSD Coach

PTSD Coach is another free app created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and is designed to help you manage symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The app helps track symptoms over time, offers self-assessment questionnaires, guides you through coping techniques and offers educational and support resources.

5. Best app for OCD: NOCD

Designed specifically for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), NOCD offers a wide range of tools and resources. The most notable of these are virtual therapy sessions with a licensed therapist who specializes in Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) therapy — a proven treatment for OCD.

The app also offers live support between sessions, personalized treatment plans, community support, progress tracking and a range of educational and self-help tools.

To access the one-on-one therapy sessions, you’ll need a subscription that runs around $99/week based on location and availability. NOCD does work with some insurance providers, so be sure to check and see if the services are covered.

6. Best app for suicide prevention: Suicide Safety Plan

For those suffering from repeated thoughts of suicide, it’s important to have a safety plan in place. The Suicide Safety Plan app organizes all of that information in one location, easily accessible on your phone.

The customized safety plan includes things like:

• Warning signs
• Coping strategies
• Emergency contacts
• Mood tracking
• Crisis resources
• Education and support

Suicide Safety Plan is free to download and use.

7. Best app for medication management: Medisafe

Medication is a valuable treatment tool for many mental health issues, and the Medisafe app makes tracking your use, mood and symptoms super accessible.

The app sends personalized reminders for when to take medications, and also allows you to track your medication history, mood, symptoms, and side effects to help your healthcare provider understand how treatment is working. You also have access to education and resources and community support from others facing similar challenges.

Medisafe is free to download and use, with some premium features available through subscription.

8. Best app for exercise: Strava

Popular exercise app Strava isn’t a mental health app per se — it’s primarily a fitness tracking app. But the app does offer motivation and goal setting, along with social support through its community feature.

Exercise can be a great tool for dealing with stress, improving mindfulness and increasing confidence, and Strava can help you stick with it.

Strava offers a free version, along with a paid plan for $11.99/month or $59.99/annually which offers enhanced features.

3 tips if you’re considering other apps

If you decide to venture out into ocean of mental health apps on your own, here are a few words of wisdom.

1. Don’t believe everything social media tells you.

“Many young people learn about health and wellness on social media. Unfortunately, the vast majority of posts about mental health are by individuals with no credentials or expertise, and most contain misleading or false information,” says Dr. Weigle.

Get your information from your health team, trusted websites such as WebMD, or content from credentialed experts.

2. Be picky.

Choose apps with:

• Research-based evidence, ideally published in a peer-reviewed journal.
• A transparent privacy policy, ideally promising not to collect, sell, or transmit sensitive data.
• Updates within the past 180 days, a sign the app is well maintained.

3. Remember to bring mental health beyond your screen.

“Spending more than a few hours per day looking at your phone is bad for your health. It’s more important to have a variety of real-world hobbies and social activities,” says Dr. Weigle. “Put down the phone and get out there!”