Top 11 Mental Well-being Apps For 2023

Most of us know that we can exercise, eat well, sleep, and stay hydrated to care for our physical health. But it is uncommon for people to pay attention to their mental health. Supporting your mental health just as much as your physical health helps you feel better. There are great ways to take care of your mental health. These practices include practising mindfulness and meditation, seeing a therapist, writing a diary, talking to a friend, lighting some candles, reading a book, or just taking a nap. Many mental health apps can provide tools, activities, and support to help you manage your stress. In addition, there are apps available to help with general mental health problems and specific conditions.

This article discusses the top mental health apps for 2023.

What are mental health applications?

Mental health applications are a simple way to work on your mental health. Mental health applications are not intended to diagnose a condition or replace the care of mental health experts. However, they can help you with your overall mental health. Applications are a convenient way to get additional support between therapy sessions or office visits and can provide ongoing support after you graduate from therapy. Mental health apps can provide activities, encouragement, and other techniques to practice daily. However, many types rely on research and treatment techniques to provide evidence-based interventions.

Do mental health apps work?

Research from 2018 Trusted Source shows that mental health apps can help improve the monitoring and management of mental health conditions. Additional research from the 2018 Trusted Source also suggested that the apps work because they are easy to use, increase participation in treatment plans, and make it easier to manage symptoms. As a result, the popularity of these apps has skyrocketed since the pandemic`s beginning.

How do we choose?

When choosing the best mental health application, we considered the types of features available and whether they were evidence-based. We also read customer reviews and thought about the cost of the apps.

Top 12 Mental Health Applications for 2022

1. Best for obsessive-compulsive disorder- NOCD

Price: Start with a free call to NOCD. There are different payment plans, and the application accepts more than 30 types of insurance (the program`s total cost is not clearly stated on the website).

NOCD is designed to help treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) by combining alertness, exposure, and response techniques. The app is backed by research and a table of contents by experts. In this application, you can schedule live video therapy sessions with an OCD therapist and receive support between sessions. It`s a straightforward process: Right from your device, you`ll be connected to a licensed OCD therapist near your state and can start your personalized OCD treatment plan via a face-to-face video or text message.

Advantages:

• Useful for surprise episodes
• Strong user community

Disadvantages:

• Very expensive
• Some users say the advice is too general.

Reviews:

Google Play Store: 4.6 / 5

Apple Store: 4.8 / 5

Download: Apple Store and Google Play Store

2. Best for eating disorders: Recovery Record

Price: Free

The Recovery Record is an excellent application for those recovering from an eating disorder. The Recovery Record application can be linked to the Recovery Record Clinician application for eating disorder specialists, giving your treatment team a complete picture so they can easily track your progress and helps you to achieve your target. It includes features like a food diary to track food, thoughts and feelings during meals, daily affirmations, coping techniques, goal setting, and more.

Advantage:

• Free to use.
• Links to your treatment team
• More discreet than keeping a food diary.

Disadvantage:

• Some users encountered technical problems.

Reviews:

Google Play Store: 4.6 / 5

Apple Store: 4.9 / 5

Download: Apps Store and Google Play Store

3. Best for mental well-being care: www.connectedminds.ai

Price:

· £1.99 monthly subscriptions

· £19.99 annual subscriptions

www.connectedminds.ai is the number one global mental well-being care platform for everyone who cares about their mental well-being. The platform offers content in the form of Podcasts, Articles, Posts and Courses curated by our carefully hand-picked, licensed Psychologists and Counselors. All this unlimited content is accessible by subscription. Users also book appointments with Psychologists and Counselors on Pay as You Go basis. Our Psychologists and Counselors charge different fees for consultation services. So, users have an opportunity to pick an expert to consult based on their budget.

Connectedminds.ai is an android, iOS and Web-based app.

Advantage include:

• Video & Chat consultations
• In-app payment
• Unlimited content
• User privacy
• GDPR Compliant
• Virtual Community

Disadvantage:

• No micro-videos on the platform; however, this is in our future plans.

Reviews:

Google Play Store: 5 / 5

Apple Store: 5 / 5

Download: Apps Store and Google Play Store

4. Best to improve your mood: Happify

Price: Free version, $139.99 per year, $14.99 per month, or $449.99 for life for full access.

This application uses games to improve your mood. Its activities were developed for positive psychology techniques and CBT interventions. The application lets you choose games to help you in different areas, including:

• Dealing with stress
• Fuel your career success
• Achieving Mindfulness Through Meditation
• Conquer negative thoughts
• Building self-confidence

There are both free and paid versions of Happify. The free version gives you access to some games and information.

Advantage:

• Easy to use
• Achievable goals

Disadvantage:

• Some users have complained that the deadlines provided by the app create more stress
• The paid version is expensive.

Reviews:

Google Play Store: 3.7 / 5

Apple Store: 4.5 / 5

Download: App Store and Google Play Store

5. Better For anxiety: MindShift CBT

Price: Free

The MindShift CBT app was created to relieve anxiety using CBT tools to adjust thinking and behaviour. The app claims to help combat anxiety, panic, perfectionism, social anxiety and phobias. Features include short meditations, thought journals, keeping cards, and activities to confront fears, change beliefs, and develop healthy habits.

Advantage:

• Free
• Explicitly designed for anxiety.
• Use psychotherapy techniques.

Disadvantage:

• A limited number of tickets per day.
• Some users are experiencing technical issues.

Reviews:

Google Play Store: 4.0 / 5

Apple Store: 4.3 / 5

Download: App Store and Google Play Store

6. Best for stress: IBreathe

Price: Free

If you are looking for an easy way to reduce stress, iBreathe is an easy-to-use breathing exercises app. Deep breathing exercises can help reduce stress and anxiety. The application is designed with one purpose: simple deep breathing exercises. Therefore, there is no clutter in the app to distract or confuse you. Deep breathing exercises work best when done daily, so you can set the app to remind you when it`s time to perform the breathing exercises. Then, after any extraessful moment, you can open the app to relieve stress.

Advantage:

• Free
• Easy to use

Disadvantage:

• It only provides one feature, so some people may need to download companion apps

Reviews:

Apple Store: 4.9 / 5

Download: App Store and Google Play Store (Not available on this platform)

7. Best for suicidal awareness: Better Stop Suicide

Price: Free

The Better Stop Suicide application is designed with psychological techniques to help people with suicidal thoughts by encouraging their minds to slow down, calm down and reason. However, if you are in an emergency and feel out of control, the best thing to do is call the suicide hotline or 911. In the app, you can listen to soothing audio files written by mental health professionals, record audio messages for yourself, search for audio to fall asleep, and quickly save important contacts when needed. There are also gratitude and mood exercises to help you move negative thoughts into more positive ones.

Advantage:

• Free
• Recorded audios to help in stressful moments
• Exercises to lift your spirits

Disadvantage:

• A limited number of activities.

Reviews:

Google Play Store: 4.4 / 5

Download: App Store (Not available on this platform) and Google Play Store

8. Best for meditation: Headspace

Price: $12.99 per month or $69.99 per year

Headspace is a meditation app designed to help you live more mindfully. The app offers a wide range of meditations for novice and experienced users ranging from 3 to 20 minutes. Meditation offers many benefits, including relieving stress, controlling anxiety, improving self-awareness and attention span, and even reducing age-related memory loss. Therefore, it may be worth trying meditation. In the app, you`ll find self-contained meditations for when you need a break and longer training sessions to help you tackle a bigger problem. Course examples include learning the basics of mindfulness, dealing with cravings, dealing with distractions, and getting better sleep.

Advantage:

• High user satisfaction
• Affordable monthly price

Disadvantage:

• Exercises can become repetitive

Reviews:

Google Play Store: 4.3 / 5

Apple Store: 4.8 / 5

Download: App Store and Google Play Store

9. Best for treatment: Talkspace

Price: Monthly subscription with plans starting at $65 per week

Talkspace is the most expensive option on this list, but it does give you direct access to a mental health professional. This online treatment option is probably more affordable than seeing a therapist in person, and you`ll get 24/7 support. You can message your therapist in the Talkspace chat room at any time. You also have the option to schedule live video sessions with your therapist.

Advantage:

• You can work directly with a mental health professional.
• You have the option to change your processor
• 24/7 access to treatment

Disadvantage:

• Very expensive
• Treatment techniques may be limited for some users.
• The processor may not be suitable.

Reviews:

Google Play Store: 4.0 / 5

Apple Store: 4.7 / 5

Download: App Store and Google Play Store

10. Better overall: Moodkit

Price: 6.99 $

MoodKit was developed by two clinical psychologists based on the principles and techniques used in cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). It offers over 200 activities designed to improve your mood and help change negative thinking. A diary feature is included to help you keep track of your moods, negative thoughts, and how you deal with stress.

Advantage:

• Evidence-based
• Variety of activities
• Journal feature to track your progress easily

Disadvantage:

• Some users reported technical issues

Reviews:

Apple Store: 4.3 / 5

Download: App Store and Google Play Store (Not available on this platform)

11. Best for Therapy: Betterhelp

Price: It varies from $240 to $600, based on location and therapist availability, billed every four weeks.

BetterHelp providers provide treatment and counselling for people who need a convenient and affordable way to improve their mental health. The web-based and app-based platform offers treatment and counselling services to thousands of licensed therapists. You can contact for sessions via audio, video and text messages using the portal or app (available for iOS and Android). All BetterHelp therapists are fully trained and certified, and their resumes are easily accessible on the site. This allows you to learn more about each provider before choosing one to work with. And since there are many providers, you will likely find someone who can help you with depression, stress, low self-esteem, anger, relationship problems, or other issues. Weekly live audio and video sessions and unlimited messages from your therapist as it gives you access to valuable mental health resources when you need them most.

Advantage:

• Communicate via voice, video and messages
• Send unlimited messages to your therapist.
• It is available on the App Store and Google Play.
• Great user satisfaction

Disadvantage:

• The duration of the sessions varies depending on the therapist
• There is only one subscription plan available.
• Medication administration is not available.
• No free trials or consultations

Reviews:

Google Play Store: 4.7 / 5

Apple Store: 4.8 / 5

Download: App Store and Google Play Store