Health & Wellness Apps

An app can be a useful tool in providing more structure and guidance for self-care and skill building.  We have chosen apps that are mostly free (some may have in-app purchases).

For more help choosing an app, check out reviews from the American Psychiatric Association's App Advisor and their Psyber Guide. You can also view the M-Health Index & Navigation Database from Digital Psych for a more expansive listing of apps.

KEY used below:  
iP=iPhone/iPad, A=Android, M=Mac, Win=Windows, W=Website

Relaxation & Mindfulness
  • Aura - Offers 3-minute “micro” meditations, a gratitude journal, mood tracking, 30-second "mindful breathers," and more. (iP,A)
  • Breathe 2 Relax - This basic app teaches diaphragmatic breathing or belly breathing. (iP,A)
  • Calm - In addition to the app, there is a calm.com website offering guided meditations of 2, 5, 10, 15, or 20 minutes as well as simple timed sessions of the same lengths. (iP,A,W)
  • Colorify - A coloring book for adults to de-stress and relax.  (iP,A)
  • Headspace - Meditation and mindfulness practices. This app was previously offered for free to residents of NY; now available to students for $9.99/year.
  • Insight Timer - Versatile free app that offers timed meditations of any length or a selection of thousands of guided meditations with various themes. (iP,A)
  • Mindfulness Coach - Developed to help Veterans, offers exercises for practicing and increasing mindfulness, an awareness of the present moment which has been shown to decrease stress. (iP, A)
  • Moving Forward - This app assists with managing stress by teaching problem-solving.  It is especially helpful for maintaining a work-life balance. (iP)
  • Smiling Mind - This meditation app is designed by psychologists and offers programs for adults, sports, and classrooms. (iP,A,W)
Sleep Monitoring & Sleep Sounds
  • Sleep Cycle - An "intelligent alarm clock" that wakes you at the perfect time in your sleep cycle so that you feel rested! (iP,A)
  • Alarm Clock Sleep Sounds - Offers guided meditations to assist with sleep, custom alarm wake-up sounds, nighttime themes, and various brainwave beat options. (iP)
  • Rainsounds HQ - This collection of over 70 rain sounds from around the world is a natural way to help facilitate sleep. (iP)
Mood Tracking, Depression, & Anxiety
  • Daylio - Provides a simple micro-journal with mood-tracking abilities. Simple graphics allow the recording of moods and activities during the day. (iP,A)
  • SAM: Self-help for Anxiety Management - SAM offers options for tracking anxiety, identifying anxiety triggers, teaching breathing and relaxation strategies, and developing an anxiety management toolkit. (iP,A)
  • The Safe Place - People can experience mental health differently due to race; this is a Minority Mental Health app geared towards the Black Community. (iP)
  • Shine: Calm Anxiety & Stress - A self-care app created by women of color and designed to provide new self-care strategies on a daily basis. (iP)
  • Pacifica - Based on cognitive behavior therapy and meditation, offers daily tools for stress and anxiety plus a supportive community.  (i,A,W)
  • PTSD Coach - This app, designed for those with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), assists with managing symptoms that affect daily life. It includes specific coping techniques such as monitoring distress, engaging in positive imagery, and developing anger management techniques. (iP,A)
Suicide Prevention/Safety Planning
  • A Friend Asks - This app offers tips for getting help for a friend (or yourself). Helpful information includes what to do RIGHT NOW as well as what NOT to do. (iP,A)
  • myPlan - Helps to make safety decisions if you, or someone you care about, is experiencing abuse within an intimate relationship.  (iP,A)
  • ReliefLink - This award-winning suicide prevention app assists users with tracking daily mood/thoughts, creating a safety plan, locating the nearest hospitals, and obtaining quick access to coping methods. (iP)
Eating Disorders
  • Rise Up + Recover: An Eating Disorder Monitoring and Management Tool - This simple app allows users to log meals, rate moods, and note coping strategies. (iP,A)
  • Recovery Record - This app is designed for those in recovery from an eating disorder. It offers assistance for every stage of recovery, including progress trackers, meal logs/meal plans, coping skills, and affirmations. If you are in treatment, there is also a website with collaborative information to share with your mental health provider. (iP,A)
General Mental Health
  • ACT iCoach - Based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), offers mood tracking, video lessons, meditations, and other skills. (iP)
  • Circle of 6 - Designed for college students, Circle of 6 is a personal safety app that allows users to easily stay connect to their friends. Two simple taps on the phone connects users to their "circle" or to national hotlines. (iP,A)
  • CBT-i Coach - This app is great for users working with a therapist on insomnia issues, but it can be used by anyone who is looking to improve sleep habits. It includes a sleep diary, reminders, and specific "tools" for improving sleep. (iP)
  • DBT Coach - Offers opportunities to learn and practice DBT skills using videos and animations.  Includes exercises, meditations, and a crisis survival list. (iP)
  • Simple DBT Skills Diary Card - DBT skills are useful techniques for managing painful emotions.  This app helps track 28 vital DBT skills. (iP)
  • Therapy Buddy - Designed for those who are already in counseling, this app can enhance your treatment by allowing you to make a list of things to bring up in session, to write a "helpful takeaway" of each session, to keep track of any homework, etc. (iP,A)
  • Woebot - A "self-care expert" that combines CBT, DBT, and mindfulness skills. Offers mood tracking and daily checks.
General Physical Health
  • Fooducate - This nutrition-based app allows users to track food intake, including not only calories but also nutrients, the degree to which food has been processed, etc. There is also a scan feature to find healthy food at the grocery store. (iP,A)
  • Plant Nanny - A fun way to remind you to increase your water intake! Chose a plant a "water" it each time you drink. (iP,A,Win)
  • Clue - Clue helps women accurately predict their next period. Users can track their own unique cycle, including obtaining information on PMS and mood swings.  It's confident, scientific, and not pink. (iP,A)
  • Spot On - From Planned Parenthood, serves as both a period app and a birth control monitor. (iP,A)
  • Flo - Provides period tracking, health insights, and Q&A for difficult questions. (iP,A)
  • TracknShare LITE - TracknShare is an all-purpose tracking app that allows users to monitor virtually anything, from pre-set categories (health, mood, sleep, food, gratitude), to other items of your choosing, such as grades, stress, exercise, or weather. (iP)
Exercise
  • Fitbit - The Fitbit app tracks workouts, activity (daily steps and distance), and food intake. It also allows users to set goals, compete with friends, and sync wirelessly.  (iP,A)
  • MOVES - MOVES is an activity tracker which includes a pedometer to track steps but which also allows users to plot routes for walking, cycling, and running. (iP,A)
Alcohol & Other Drug Use
  • Saying When - This app is a self-help program for taking charge of your drinking, either cutting back or quitting altogether. It helps users monitor when and how much they are drinking, including tracking alcohol consumption and estimating BAC levels over time.  (iP,A)
Improving Organization & Productivity
  • Forest - Stay focused by staying away from your smartphone! A fun app that lets you grow a tree when you stay present. (iP,A)
  • Speechify - Trouble with reading? This app reads text aloud from any PDF. (iP,A,Chrome)
  • 30/30 - The goal of this app is to improve time management and enhance performance by decreasing multitasking. It helps users to set up task lists, with specific times designated for each task. (iP)
  • To Do - This is a successor to the now-defunct Wunderlist app; offers options for creating a to-do list, managing tasks, sharing information, and more. (iP,A,Win)
  • Brainscape - This app is designed for finding, creating, and sharing effective, high-quality flashcards. (iP)

NOTE: all of the above apps are provided for educational purposes, as they provide information on a variety of topics related to mental health and personal growth. Although the professional staff at Counseling Services believes that such information can be useful and helpful, please keep in mind the following:

  • We are not specifically endorsing any of the above apps;
  • The links are not within the domain/control of Student Health & Counseling;
  • Self-help materials such as apps may not be effective in addressing more complex issues; and
  • In the case of a mental health emergency, we recommend that you seek assistance immediately.

If you encounter a broken link or would like to suggest an app, please contact Dr. Beth Cholette, Assistant Director of Counseling Services.

Related Pages
Health Promotion