

Best mental health apps

Can an app really improve your mental health?

best mental health apps 
shapechargeGetty Images

Around a quarter of adults experience a diagnosable mental health issue every year, according to the data from the NHS. During the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, this has only worsened with there being an increase in stress and loneliness among UK adults according to new research the Mental Health Foundation. Not all will seek help, and those that do may face a lengthy wait for treatment.

Now, a whole host of smartphone apps claim to offer support to those looking to improve their mental health. But what do they offer and are they any good?

Can an app help improve your mental health?

We asked Stephen Buckley, Head of Information at the mental health charity Mind, whether mental health apps have the potential to boost your mental health. He thinks they do. "Lots of people with mental health problems find apps helpful," he said. "We hear from people with anxiety and depression and more severe mental health problems such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia who have found them beneficial." He adds, though that it's important to think of these apps as complementary to, rather than a replacement of, ‘real world’ mental health services.

One of the biggest issues surrounding online therapy is anonymity. Online therapists won’t have any personal details about users, which means that if a crisis situation were to occur, they would have no way of responding in real-life. For this reason, if you are concerned about your mental health, you should always speak to a GP about the issues you are facing.

However, if you're looking for additional day-to-day support with your emotional wellbeing or help, it may be worth trying out a mental health app. We've rounded up six of the most popular mental health apps below.

What are the best mental health apps?


Available on both iOS and Android devices, Flow is a smartphone app that claims to help treat depression. They also sell a brain stimulation headset to use alongside the app that claims to deliver electrical signals to your brain which help reduce symptoms of depression without using medication. It’s available from the website for a £399 one-off payment, or you can choose to pay £34 a month for 12 months.

In the app, there's a virtual chatbot that has daily conversations with its users, tracking how they’re feeling and offering advice to help improve mental health. This virtual therapist doesn’t diagnose depression but rather teaches you physical and mental exercises about sleep, nutrition and how to monitor your mental health effectively.

Good Housekeeping's resident doctor, Dr Sarah Jarvis gave us her thoughts on Flow: "The prospect of a new, non-drug alternative to treat depression is intriguing. It works by applying a very low level of current to affect the firing of neurons in the brain. The evidence is that it may be effective in depression and has a good safety profile."

Depression app  



Moodpath is an app available on both iOS and Android, which tracks your moods throughout the day. It’ll ask you a series of questions three times a day, and then collates that data to offer you insights into your mental health overall. This allows you to keep track of, and reflect on, your emotional wellbeing, which should help you know when you should seek extra help and support.

The app will also use that data to give you relevant courses, guided meditations, sleep aids, and other resources, which will aim to help improve your mental health. The best part? It's completely free.


7 Cups

This app connects users with real-life people to help provide emotional support. 7 Cups is available to download for free on both iOS and Android. It works by recruiting volunteer ‘listeners’ who are trained to chat with people about their mental health. You simply log in to a private chatroom with listeners who are available 24/7, and you remain completely anonymous throughout.

The app also offers a range of free self-help guides and other advice on how to help look after your mental health. For those who need a bit of extra guidance, you can pay a monthly fee to have access to one of 7 Cup’s 180 professional therapists. They provide online counselling sessions through private messaging, and there’s no limit on how many messages you can send them or when.


Evergreen Life

Evergreen Life is a free smartphone app which helps you to keep track of your mental and physical health. Available on iOS and Android, this app is also NHS assured. It provides you with a Wellness score, based on regular Wellness Checks. These checks involve a series of questions to gauge your lifestyle, health and happiness. It creates an overall score and breaks it down into four categories, which are fitness, happiness, food and medical records. It'll help you know exactly which areas you need to focus on to improve, and the app provides you with useful tips and advice to do so.

You can keep track of your physical health as well by creating health goals, securely downloading and storing your medical records, monitoring blood pressure and sugar levels, and it’ll help you to stay on top of your jabs. Because the app works alongside the NHS, you can even book your NHS appointments and order new prescriptions through it, too.


My Possible Self

A free app for your smartphone which appears on the NHS supported apps library, My Possible Self helps teach you how to handle your mental health through a series of learning modules. These modules include managing fear and anxiety, loss, life changes, stress, and help you to learn how to create solutions to your problems.

Through the app, you can also track your mood, which helps you to see what places, people and activities boost your frame of mind and which ones don’t, helping you to do more of the things you love, and less of the things you don’t.


young woman using mobile phone in coffee shop
Lilly RoadstonesGetty Images


Available on both iOS and Android, Headspace is a popular smartphone app with hundreds of friendly voice-guided meditation sessions and mindfulness exercises. It aims to help you beat anxiety and stress, and find healthy ways of living, using meditation to help you regulate your emotions.

The app is designed to be used once a day. You can choose how long you want each session to be, ranging from three minutes up to 20 minutes. The first 10 sessions are free, after that you can sign up for £9.99 a month or £49.99 a year.


If you're concerned about your own mental health or the mental health of someone else, speak with your GP. You can access support and guidance from organisations like Time To Change and Mind, as well as the NHS.

If you need support with your mental health more urgently - or if you are supporting someone who does - contact the Samaritans free of charge on 116 123.

Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get the GHI newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every week.


Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
More From Technology Advice