Maintaining good mental health is an important piece of your overall wellness. Unfortunately, the necessary resources aren’t readily available to everyone who needs them.
Sure, it would be great to be able to sit down with a therapist for an hour every week. But time and financial constraints often prevent therapy-seekers from obtaining that kind of care.
Physically coming face to face with a therapist and sitting in an office may also be too much for some people, especially those who are struggling to come to terms with their problems.
Leave it to technology to come to the rescue.
Mental health apps are becoming more and more popular as an alternative to in-person therapy, and are available for a range of mental health concerns.
For general anxiety:
Not only does SAM provide self-guided exercises, it also offers an anonymous community forum so users can connect with and help each other.
For meditation:
This app emphasises the importance of slowing down and spending time with your loved ones, as well as with your own thoughts, throughout the day.
To speak to a therapist:
Talkspace allows users to interact with a qualified therapist directly for just $32 a week, at your own convenience.
For quitting smoking:
This app takes a financial approach to quitting smoking, by showing you how much money you’re saving by quitting, as well as how your health is improved.
It’s easy to think of apps as just another distraction on your phone, but when it comes to mental health, they could have an important impact on your life. We also recommend Smiling Mind and Headspace’s apps.
Lynn Bufka, clinical psychologist and Associate Executive Director of Practice, Research, and Policy at the American Psychological Association, points out the benefits that the accessibility of these apps provide.
As she tells Pacific Standard, “The potential for apps is that they could open up access to care for individuals who don’t have a lot of access to care.”
That can only be a good thing.
