Finch was recommended by our Project HEAL community and in multiple online forums. The idea is simple: take care of yourself by taking care of your digital pet. You can choose from a wide variety of daily self-care activities personalized for you while watching your pet grow. You can also set mindful goals, choose from mindful activities, and much more. If you want to make mental health more fun and carefree, this app is worth trying!
Art can be a powerful healing tool and with this mental health app you can not only draw—but the app will also give you insights based on your mental health what you drew. They explain on their website: “Designed by certified art therapists, these activities help you heal from past trauma, find relief from anxiety, and develop a strong sense of self-worth through creative emotional expression.”
I recently wrote a blog post about deleting social media for mental health—and while it can be helpful it’s not always realistic (or appealing!). The One Sec app is a perfect solution for supporting your mental health without deleting anything. The idea is simple:
“Every time you try to open your favorite apps, wait. Take a deep breath in, and let it out slowly. one sec gives you the chance to pause and think twice – before you get sucked into an endless loophole designed to draw you in for hours again.”
It sounds simple—but the effectiveness of the app was scientifically proven in a peer-reviewed study with the University of Heidelberg and Max Planck Institute.
Exhale is the first well-being app for black women. They explain on their website:
“Exhale is an emotional well-being app designed specifically for Black Women to help cope with the stress associated with everyday life and the effects of systemic racism. As Black Women, we face oppressive systems that weather our mental and emotional health. One way to resist these systems is to return to our breath and prioritize our well-being. Exhale is committed to centering Black Women and creating culturally relevant resources that allow us to destress, get grounded, and have a brave place to pause and breathe.”
Within the app, you can find a wide range of options for supporting your mental health from day to day, including guided meditations and breathwork techniques, calming sounds, and a thought of the day.
Read on the Project HEAL blog: Food Colonialism: Tracing its Impact on Black Communities
Sleep is so important for mental health and this app makes that easier with “Music, meditations, and stories backed by the science of sleep.” While you can access this app for free, and still get a wide range of audio tracks, upgrading to premium unlocks the entire library of sleep content, including soundscapes and SleepTales.
More and more people are choosing to live alcohol-free or alcohol-reduced and this sober curious lifestyle also happens to be great for mental health. Sober curious benefits include mental clarity, better sleep, and improved relationships. If you want to experience these mental health benefits, Reframe is the perfect free app for you.
This app allows you to use “neuroscience to reframe your relationship with alcohol and unlock the healthiest, happiest you”—and it works. They report that 91 percent of Reframe users experienced a substantial decrease in alcohol consumption within just 3 months!
If you’re an iPhone user, you have access to Apple’s brand new Journal app already. They launched this app to “reflect on everyday moments and life’s special events.” Nick Hobson PhD loves this new addition to the iPhone citing the prompts, integrated media options (adding photos and videos to your entry), and lack of sharing options as reasons why—especially the latter. In a recent article for Inc., Hobson says:
“As more users seek digital spaces for self-reflection rather than social approval, we might witness a broader trend where technology companies prioritize features that foster inner peace and personal growth, aligning technology more closely with our psychological needs.”
If you don’t have an iPhone, or just want a different app option, look no further than Day One. This free mental health is the #1 journaling app and has won App of the Year, Apple Editors’ Choice, and the Apple Design Award.
The idea is simple: open your app and write your journal entry. You can add photos, drawings, or voice memos to your entry—and don’t forget to look back with their “On This Day” feature. With 150,000 5-star reviews, this app is worth a try.
This mental health app was created by the Veteran Affairs National Center for PTSD and the Department of Defense’s National Center for Telehealth and Technology. Within it, you’ll find educational information about post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and professional care, along with a self-assessment for PTSD.
Finally, you can choose from a variety of tools to manage your PTSD symptoms, like doing a body scan or listening to ambient sounds. You don’t need to be a veteran or member of the military to use this app.
Read on the Project HEAL blog: The Undeniable Connection Between Eating Disorders and Trauma
This neuroscience-based app helps you not only process emotions but release stress too—in just minutes! The app and its tools are built upon the Emotional Brain Training (EBT) framework and can be useful for creating relief from stress eating, addiction, anxiety, and depression. The best part is, finding that relief is as simple as tapping a button and following along with some prompts to breathe and reflect.
How We Feel was a popular recommendation on a few mental health lists and threads. This “journal for wellbeing” app was developed by the co-founder of Pinterest, and the scientific team is led by the author of Permission to Feel. Use this mental health app to not only track your feelings, but spot patterns and find new ways to help yourself in the moment.
This free mental health app was designed specifically to manage the urge to self-harm. Developed by Clinical Psychologist Dr. Nihara Krause MBE, and using principles from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), you will “learn to ride the wave by choosing activities from these categories: Comfort, Distract, Express Yourself, Release, and Random.”
The goal is to not only safely get through these moments and urges, but break the cycle of self-harm and explore the underlying triggers.
Voda is the LGBTQIA+ Mental Health App—developed by leading LGBTQIA+ psychotherapists. If you identify as LGBTQIA+, then you know that you face many unique mental health challenges.
This app uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) to help anyone who identifies in this way “learn self-care, cultivate gratitude, manage stress & anxiety, and learn to manage queer-specific issues like coming out, internalized shame and gender dysphoria.”
Read on the Project HEAL blog: Free to Be Me: Confronting the Stigma
This meditation app comes from Smiling Mind, Australia’s leading digital-led, prevention-focused mental health non-profit. Their app was developed by psychologists and educators and includes evidence-based meditations and mindfulness activities to support sleep, stress, relationships, mindful eating, and more. A cool feature of this app is its Indigenous Languages Program, which shows the organization’s commitment to inclusion. They explain what this is:
“We worked with NPY Women’s Council to develop a mindfulness program aimed at providing accessible and engaging mental health tools for Aboriginal people of the NPY region. These meditations have been scripted and recorded by senior Anangu women in Pitjantjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra. Thanks to Nib Foundation for funding this work.”
You may be hesitant to trust an AI bot for a therapy session—but this mental health app’s technically has been clinically validated. The result is thousands of people now getting mental health support quickly and easily—all for free and without waiting a week for a session with a therapist. While this may not replace a therapist, it can be at the ready when you need a quick moment of support. As one user said:
“It’s not like talking to a real person, but it’s dang close. I’ve been in therapy before, and it sometimes feels very judgmental, but Youper gets rid of all that and saves the helpful knowledge and support. I love this app.”
