Self-Help Apps
Applications can address a variety of concerns and can be used to supplement the work you do in therapy or used to assist with self-improvement because, like we say, “You don’t have to be sick to get better!”
Behavioral Intervention Technologies (BITs)
Advantages of Apps:
- Require minimal resources
- Free or low cost
- Highly portable
- Can be utilized with or without a therapist
- Can provide instant intervention during a crisis
Topics covered:
- Substance Abuse Management
- Anxiety Reduction
- Tobacco Cessation
- Mood Management
- Insomnia
- Pain Management
- PTSD
- Relaxation Techniques
- Severe Mental Illness
- Violence Prevention
- Psychoeducation
We have compiled a list of self-help applications we think may be useful in your day-to-day life. This list is not comprehensive and you should talk with a professional or call the Counseling Center at (410) 704-2512 if you have any concerns.
Applications
Academic
Evernote (free)
- Top rated note-taking app
- Allows users to scribble down notes or type characters
- Can capture photographs and record voice memos
- Can be synched across 2 devices
- Can share notes with friends or peers
Available for Apple iPhone, Mac, Windows, and Android.
myHomework Student Planner (free)
- Track your classes, homework, tests, and assignments
- Calendar display to easily remind you when things are due
- Never forget an assignment
Available for Apple iPhone and Android.
SelfControl
- Allows users to block specific websites for up to 24 hours
- No cheaters allowed here! Even if you delete the app, the website will still be blocked for the designated amount of time
Available for Apple Mac.
Freedom ($6.99/month)
- Blocks apps and websites (or even the entire internet)
- Users can build new, productive habits with scheduling features
- Cover all of your devices (Mac OS X 10.8 - 10.12, Windows (Vista, 7, 8, or 10) or iOS 9+
See above bullet for available devices.
Addiction
Addicaid (free)
- Provides list of 12-step and alternative substance abuse support programs
- Meeting location and directions to location
- Saves group meeting dates
- Allows users to check-in to meetings and offer feedback on meeting
- Provides chat/discussion boards for users to talk anonymously
Available for Apple iPhone and Android.
IMquit (free)
- Traces behaviors
- Allows users to compare/share their success with friends and/or physicians
- Allows users to track more than 1 addiction at a time
- Provides visual charts and diagrams to illustrate user's progress
Available for Android.
Recovery Box ($1.99)
- Provides information on why habits/ addiction form and how to break the cycle of addiction
- Users track their activities using a light system (Example: green light = favorable activities)
- Users can journal their triggers and earn badges when they reach personal milestones
Available on Apple iPhone and Android.
Anxiety & Panic Attacks / Panic Disorder
Breathe2Relax (free)
- Teaches breathing and stress management through diaphragmatic breathing exercises
- Guides deep breathing practice
- Can set preferred music, video scenery, and breathing intervals
Available on Apple iPhone and Android.
Tactical Breather (free)
- Teaches the use of breathing to control stress responses
- Gain control over physiological and psychological responses to stress
Available on Apple iPhone and Android.
Self-Help Anxiety Management (SAM)
- Offers tools for anxiety-related problems
- Users rate the helpfulness of the tools and build their own toolbox
- Self-assess your level of distress in different domains of anxiety
- Users can share their experiences
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
Panic Relief (free or pay $0.99 for added features)
- Offers educational material on panic disorder
- Offers several techniques for prevention and managing a panic attack
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
Stop Panic and Anxiety (free)
- Provides tools, articles, and audio files for individuals struggling with panic attacks
- Provides assistance during panic attacks, relaxation techniques, emotion training, and mindfulness training
Available on Android
Chronic Pain
My Pain Diary ($4.99)
Designed for pain tracking for several chronic health conditions including:
- lupus
- fibromyalgia
- arthritis
Program is able to explore changes in pain level over time
- Includes mood scales for anxiety and depression
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
Chronic Pain Tracker (lite version = free)
- Builds upon pain diary mechanism (see above)
- Adds descriptors for pain intensity, sensation, and speed of onset
- Interactive map that covers afflicted areas of the body
- Includes medication logs for both prescription and OTC medication
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
Mental Health Tools
The Safe Place (free)
-
The Safe Place is a minority mental health app geared towards the Black community.
- Allows users to chat with others about mental illness.
- Provides mental health articles and tips.
Available on Apple iPhone.
Action for Asperger's (free)
- Provides counseling and support for all variants of autism, from lower-functioning to higher-functioning types
Big White Wall ($37)
- Allows users with various mental illnesses to chat about their issues
- Users can chat with and be supported by a trained therapist
- Chats are anonymous
- Allows users to register for online therapy programs
Available on Apple iPhone and Android.
eMoods Bipolar Mood Tracker (free)
- Daily monitoring of the user's mood, sleep patterns, medication, and other symptoms of bipolar disorder
- Emails a report to the user's doctor or caregiver every month
- Can help identify triggers and possibly prevent future episodes
Available on Android.
DBT Diary Card and Skills Coach ($4.99)
- Includes key principles of dialectical behavior therapy
- Designed to help user slow down and process their thoughts/feelings in the moment
- Allows for behavior monitoring
Available on Apple iPhone and Android.
Mindfulness
Insight Timer (free)
- Features more than 4,000 guided meditations from over 1,000 teachers
- Topics include self-compassion, nature, and stress
- Can also do quiet meditations and meditate to intermittent bells
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
Liberate Meditation (free)
- Mission is to support the Black, Indigenous, and People of Color community.
- Features dharma talks and guided meditations by Buddhist teachers of color, like Ruth King, Gina Sharpe, and Mushim Patricia Ikeda.
- The content features a variety of topics including dealing with microaggressons and cultivating loving-kindness for difficult people.
- Meditations are on a varitey of topics such as mindfulness, self-worth, and gratitude.
Available on Apple iPhone and Android.
Headspace (free for 1st 10 days)
- Guides you through meditation 10 minutes at a time
- Aims to be the personal trainer in establishing daily practice
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
Stop, Breath, and Think (free)
- Includes psychoeducational properties, progress tracking, and a variety of other activities
- Covers some of the neuroscience of mindfulness and the physiology of stress
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
- Friendly and uplifting platform featuring a social media app
- Compiles photo and note posts in one 'Feed' for you to soak up gratefulness shared within the circle you set up
- Aims to bring hapiness and positivity to users
- Privately track gratitude in 'My Notebook'
Available in the App and Google Play stores
Mood
Whats My M3 (free)
- Helps users track mood symptoms
- Screens for depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and PTSD via 27-item self-assessment
- Provides visual representations and psychoeducational links
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
T2 Mood Tracker (free)
- Track issues related to service member's transition to civilian life (anxiety, depression, well-being, PTSD)
- Can also be used by non-service member individuals
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
PTSD Coach (free)
- Helps users with PTSD symptoms to better understand and manage their symptoms
- Provides education about PTSD, info about professional care, self-assessment for PTSD, and opportunities to find support
- Tools range from relaxation skills and positive self-talk to anger management, mindfulness, etc.
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
If you are involved in on-going therapy with a licensed professional, we have other applications that may be useful for you! Talk with your counselor to learn more about these apps.
Sleep
CBT-i Coach (free)
- Helps users with insomnia symptoms move towards more optimal sleep
- Should not be used independently, but in conjunction with a clinician who is trained in CBT for insomnia
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
Dream EZ (free)
Help diffuse nightmares to increase optimal sleep
Users can:
- write and log description of nightmare
- track and monitor when and how often the nightmare occurs
- practice visualization techniques
- record new version of the dream
Available on Apple iPhone and Android
Suicide Prevention
It is great to get help for yourself or even a friend, but these applications are not meant to be used in place of professional help.
If you are thinking about or maybe even considering suicide, please call the Baltimore County Response Team at (410) 931-2214 or visit the nearest emergency room.
Grassroots (410) 531-6677 and Baltimore County Suicide Hotline (410) 433-5175 are also great resources!
As always, please give us a call (410) 704-2512 and schedule an appointment to speak with one of our counselors.
A Friend Asks
A Friend Asks is a free smart-phone app that helps provide the information, tools and resources to help a friend (or yourself) who may be struggling with thoughts of suicide. Education is the key to prevention and with information like this as close as your smartphone, you could help save a life!
Operation Reach Out
Operation Reach Out is part of MCA-D’s effort to provide timely and effective support and guidance for military families. It's designed to:
- Encourage people to reach out for help when they are having suicidal thoughts.
- Help those who are concerned about family members, spouses, or fellow service members who may be suicidal.
- Provide a personal contact help center.
- Provide activities to help people who are depressed stay connected to others.
Note: This app contains many videos segments and may take up extra memory and time to download. Video must be downloaded while connected by wifi.
Violence Prevention
Abhaya
- Designed to protect women from dating violence and sexual assault
- Installs 4 numbers on speed dial and if user clicks "start" button in app, then it alerts the 1st number listed
- Tracks GPS location (when opened)
Available on Android
Circle of 6 (free)
- Can send different notifications to the user's
- Allows users to contact the local authorities
- Provides information for sexual assault and relationship abuse hotlines
SAFESNAPP ($9.99)
- Allows users to take a picture of their assailant
- Picture is then sent to user's email address and the email addresses of a close friend or family member
- Sends the GPS location to email as well
Available on Apple iPhone and Android.
Additional Application Information
TOPIC | NAME OF APP | APPLE OR ANDROID? | COST |
---|---|---|---|
Academic | MyHomework Student Planner | Both | Free (Basic) or $4.99 (Premium) |
Addiction | Addicaid | Both | Free |
Addiction | IMquit | Android | |
Addiction | Recovery Box | Both | $1.99 |
Anxiety | Breathe2Relax | Both | Free |
Anxiety | Tactical Breather | Both | Free |
Chronic Pain | My Pain Diary | Both | $4.99 |
Chronic Pain | Chronic Pain Tracker | Both | Free (lite version) |
Mental Health Tools | The Safe Place | Apple | Free |
Mental Health Tools | Action for Aspergers | Both | Free |
Mental Health Tools | Big White Wall | Both | $37 |
Mental Health Tools | eMoods Bipolar Mood Tracker | Android | Free |
Mental Health Tools | DBT Diary Card and Skills Coach | Both | $4.99 |
Mindfulness | Insight Timer | Both | Free |
Mindfulness | Headspace | Both | Free for 1st 10 days |
Mindfulness | Stop, Breath, and Think | Both | Free |
Mindfulness | Gratitude Circle | Both | Free |
Mood Tracker | Whats My M3 | Both | Free |
Mood Tracker | T2 Mood Tracker | Both | Free |
Panic Attacks/ Disorder | Self-Help Anxiety Management (SAM) | Both | |
Panic Attacks/ Disorder | Panic Relief | Both | Free |
Panic Attacks/ Disorder | Stop Panic and Anxiety | Android | Free |
PTSD | PTSD Coach | Both | Free |
Sleep | CBT-i Coach | Both | Free |
Sleep | Dream EZ | Both | Free |
Violence Prevention | Abhaya | Android | |
Violence Prevention | Circle of 6 | Both | Free |
Violence Prevention | SAFESNAPP | Both | $9.99 |