Apps to help take the benefits of therapy outside the consulting room
One of the benefits (but also pitfalls!) of smart phones is that they are with us everywhere we go! They have the capacity to allow us to access tools to help with many aspects of our lives at the touch of a button, regardless of where we are. Therapy and mental health support are no different. Here is a list of apps that I often recommended to clients in sessions to assist them in a variety of ways, such as emotional regulation, building awareness, managing suicidal thinking and self-harm urges, and journaling. Many of these apps help us take our therapy ‘outside the room’, and practice what we’re learning more regularly:
Thought Diary – depending on the type of therapy you’re engaging in, your psychologist is likely to recommend that you keep a thought diary. This app allows just that – easy documenting of situations and thoughts that arise, with helpful prompts to recognise thought distortions, challenge negative thinking, and develop alternative thinking patterns. You can log your mood and gratitudes here also! The app has a feature to set notifications, so that regular thought logging can occur despite forgetfulness.
What’s Up – this app is pretty comprehensive! It includes psychoeducational resources and information about mental health diagnoses and treatment. It has a section to to log mood, keep track of habits, and add notes. It’s got a ‘coping strategies’ feature with a range of explanations regarding CBT, ACT and DBT strategies discussed in therapy. The ‘Help Right Now’ section can provide some more immediate help or techniques to assist in moments of distress or overwhelm.
Smiling Mind and Headspace – two apps that you’ve probably heard of before! Both offer guided meditation and mindfulness practice in a variety of lengths and topics. I love how accessible and flexible these apps have made attention training and building mindfulness skills. I often tell clients that building mindfulness doesn’t have to happen in a dark room with your eyes closed – I’ve put one of these tracks on whilst walking, cooking, and driving before. They’ve also got tips to help with stress, sleep, and motivation.
Calm Harm – this app is great for those who self-harm and want to learn alternative coping strategies. It allows you to pick from 5 activity types (comfort, distract, express yourself, release, breathe) with a random option for when you can’t choose. It then allows you to pick either a short (5 minute) or longer (15 minute) activity to help you ‘ride the wave’ to harm, with heaps of options for things to do for that length of time. This app would also be useful if you’re trying to stop or reduce another behaviour that comes with cravings or urges (such as substance use).
Beyond Now – this app allows users to create a safety plan around suicidal thinking. Do this in session with your psychologist, or with another support person (parent, doctor, counsellor etc). In 7 easy steps, it walks you through each stage of a safety plan - from preventative self-care measures, through to emergency situations, and has helpful suggestions for things to put in the plan if you’re not sure. It allows you to have immediate access to your safety plan wherever you are. You can input photos and contact details, so that supports are accessible.
Worry Time – this app lets you set a ‘worry time’ and add worries to think about during your set aside time. The concept of ‘worry time’ is an evidence-based technique to help manage chronic and persistent worry (often present in Generalised Anxiety Disorder). It’s a helpful way to still note the worries or concerns you’re having, whilst also working at not having them creep into all aspects of your life. It can be an easy way to ‘brain dump’ things that your worry brain is holding on to.
Moodily– this app allows you to track your mood. It makes it super quick and easy to do so (it can take 5 seconds!), and allows you to add in the activity you were doing at the time you logged. The ‘calendar’ section can help you and your Psychologist see any patterns or triggers. A great feature is that it will send you a notification at some point during the day reminding you to log your mood
