In this article, we survey a few good apps using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and related therapies, that are useful for promotion of mental health.
List of apps
The list of good CBT apps for well being, recommended by a friend, are as follows:
- Wysa
- calm harm
- move mood
- sam
- whats up
- mindshift
In the sections below, we go through each of the apps in more detail.
Wysa
Wysa is a chatbot based on CBT. It is almost like a virtual therapist. It is approved by the NHS (National Health Service) as part of mental health treatments in UK.
Its website is:
Wysa functions as a friendly and c onfidential chatbot with whom we can have a conversation, let them know what is worrying us. The chatbot suggests solutions in a calm and empathetic way. It also links to guided meditations for anxiety and other problems. The guided meditations etc are started on the user’s mobile as part of the chatbot app.
Calm harm
Calm harm is an app to resist self harm and unhelpful thoughts. It is based on principles of DBT or dialectical behavior therapy. The idea is that thoughts of self harm do not arise suddenly, they are part of a chain of thoughts and strong emotions, a bit like riding a wave of emotions. If the user is aware of such thoughts and emotions when they arise, this chain can be broken.
It has several features such as an activity log, recording how we are feeling or what activities we are doing any time of the day. It also suggests many kinds of activities one can do if we are feeling negative thoughts or feel the urge to self-harm.
Move mood
Move Mood is an app to manage low moods and depression. It is based on Behavioral Activation Therapy, setting daily tasks to come out of low moods.
The idea is that when one is feeling depressed or in a low mood, doing small tasks that are fun or meaningful can enable the user to come out of such moods, or “move” the mood.
The website of the app is https://movemood.stem4.org.uk/
This link gives more information on how behavioral activation can help: https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/behavioral-activation-how-to-use-it
Sam
SAM is a self help app for the mind. It is an app to manage anxiety, depression and loneliness. The user can themselves use it, with or without the help of a supporting therapist, to manage their own mental health issues. It is backed by academic research as well.
It has a series of features and meditations for different issues such as anxiety.
The website of the app is as follows:
What’s up
What’s up is an app to promote one’s own mental health. It has features like rating one’s own mood at different times of the day, a directory of wellbeing contacts, and steps for wellbeing.
The website of What’s up app is as follows:
Mindshift
Mindshift is an app to manage anxiety, based on CBT. It has a lot of information on how negative thinking patterns cause anxiety and other conditions, and what an user can do to come out of unhelpful thought patterns. It also has a section on different types of coping strategies.
The website of the Mindshift app is https://www.anxietycanada.com/resources/mindshift-cbt/
Conclusion
In this article, we have briefly discussed some of the free and useful well being apps related to CBT. These apps have their own specialismations, based on different aspects of CBT and its variants, and are useful for different types of mental health issues in different people such as anxiety, depression, self harm, self esteem and loneliness. The user can install these apps on their own mobile devices. They function as a source of additional support for one’s well being.
