10 Science-Approved CBT-Based Self-Guided Therapy Apps

CBT based self guided therapy apps

CBT-based self-guided therapy apps make quality mental health care accessible to everyone. Especially to those who don’t have access to or can’t afford a therapist. 

With all the challenges we, as a human race, are facing every day the need for daily care of one’s mental health has never been greater. 

As an answer to the increasing demand for therapeutic solutions, we see a rise in self-guided therapy apps. 

To separate the wheat from the chaff, in 2020. several institutions across the globe conducted a large-scale assessment of self-guided CBT-based apps available on Google Play and Apple App Store.  

Based on that research I’ve selected the 15 best apps on the basis of offering at least 4 out of 6 CBT techniques and having at least two other helpful features like content in modules, mood trackers, homework, notifications, reminders, and end-of-therapy coping strategies.

At the end of this article, you’ll find a comparison table of all ten CBT-based self-guided therapy apps to help you choose the one that will suit your needs the best.

These are the 6 CBT techniques used in self-guided therapy apps:

  • Psychoeducation – reading, and learning about mental health, and coping strategies
  • Behavioral activation – tracking and scheduling activities that support mental health
  • Cognitive restructuring – identifying and reframing automatic thoughts, and identifying emotions and cognitive distortions related to automatic thoughts
  • Problem-solving – techniques and step-by-step templates to help you solve a problem
  • Relaxation – mindfulness, meditation, and breathing exercises
  • Exposure – techniques, and exercises to expose yourself to anxiety-inducing stimuli 

Is it possible to do CBT on yourself? 

The short answer is yes, but only if you’re dealing with mild to moderate symptoms or as a form of self-care/mental wellness activity.

CBT is a structured form of therapy that can be learned and used as a method for self-guided therapy. It consists of clearly defined techniques you can use by yourself to treat mild to moderate symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression, manage negative, disruptive, or distorted thoughts, and cope with emotions and events. 

In case you’re experiencing severe symptoms you should always seek professional help as soon as possible. 

 

10 Best CBT-Based Self-Guided Therapy Apps

29K

29K app is created with a help of leading psychologists from around the globe. Packed with courses and psychological tools for mental health. It’s run by a non-profit organization from Sweden and it’s free for everyone. 

Why? 

This is their mission statement: 

“For the greater good. We need to strengthen people and people’s ability to create healthy environments around themselves, for others.

We think that’s probably one of the most important things to do globally today and we believe that it’s through inner sustainability and inner growth that we can navigate and build a more sustainable society.” 

CBT techniques used in the app:

  • Psychoeducation
  • Behavior activation
  • Problem-solving
  • Relaxation

Other features: 

  • A supportive community that will keep you motivated by holding you accountable and offering you support using weekly check-ins.
  • Exercises and challenges to cope with stress, anxiety, and overwhelming emotions, reframe negative self-talk, and more.
  • Tests to help you learn more about yourself.
  • Courses to learn more about self-development.
  • Daily check-ins to keep track of your progress. 
  • Content is structured in modules to resemble face-to-face therapy.

Promising review:  

“Didn’t have high hopes for this app but reviews got me curious so I tried. I did one course so far and it’s been amazing. It helped me process the negative thoughts and emotions I’ve been struggling with and opened my eyes to the positive. After taking the course I felt empowered and hopeful once again that I just made plans on how to keep going from this positive place through self-reflection and changing something in my daily routine. Excited to try the other features of this app.” – Claire

 

Platforms: 

 

Price: Free

 

CBT Tools

The app was developed by a clinical psychologist dr.Monica Frank. She has over 30 years of experience working with patients. Her goal was to make access to quality information and mental-health support tools free and accessible to everyone. It’s a simple app, visually unimpressive but it does offer quality assistance for your self-guided therapy. There are no ads and no distractions to disturb you. 

CBT techniques used in the app: 

  • Psychoeducation
  • Behavior activation
  • Cognitive restructuring
  • Relaxation 

Other features: 

  • Guided diaries to help with cognitive restructuring.
  • Tests to help you learn more about yourself.
  • Activities and mood logs to track, motivate and help you improve.
  • Goal setting and points system to motivate you and give you a sense of accomplishment.
  • Links to find more information and helpful resources.

Promising review:  

“Real CBT; no BS. It’s not pretty and the UI is clunky but easy to learn. This app is the only one I have found that actually takes you through the legit CBT process just like a therapist would during a session. It’s a tool, not a toy. For me it takes 30 min to complete an entry. It makes you work. If you’re looking for a quick, cute app this is not for you; if you are actually looking to work through your issues, then you will find the results outweigh the app’s UI and visual design.” – A. 

 

Platforms: 

 

Price: Free

 

Amaha

The app is created by mental health professionals, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Content is organized into modules to give your self-guided therapy direction. Modules are created in a way that mimics the real-life therapy experience. Speaking of real-life therapy, Amaha Pro users will additionally receive professional support from Amaha in-house therapists (although for now, this option is only available to customers in India). Also, a minimally designed UI will instantly make you feel calm. 

CBT techniques used in the app:

  • Psychoeducation
  • Behavior activation
  • Cognitive restructuring
  • Relaxation

Other features: 

  • Initial assessment to give direction to your therapy
  • Chatbot Allie will offer you simple activities to deal with your current mental health difficulty
  • Courses for specific issues like overthinking, social anxiety, loneliness, and more
  • Mood tracker to gain insight into your mood patterns
  • Goal setting and tracking to build habits that support mental health

Promising review:  

“So far this app is great! I’ve only used it for a week or so now, but even just tracking my moods and writing them out helps me release some anxiety. I find the guided exercises helpful in putting my negative thoughts into perspective. I’ve been recommending this to many of my friends. While it’s not a replacement for a therapist, it’s a great way to check in with yourself each day.” – Sara

 

Platforms: 

 

Price:  

  • Freemium
  • Monthly – $4.99
  • Quarterly – $11.99
  • Yearly – $49.99

 

Moodfit

The main feature of the app are mood-behavior charts. They are used to increase your awareness of how your behavior, thoughts, and feelings mutually affect one another. With charts, you can analyze how certain activities influence your mood. Besides charts, there are plenty of tools and activities to help you along with your self-guided therapy. 

CBT techniques used in the app:

  • Psychoeducation
  • Behavior activation
  • Cognitive restructuring
  • Relaxation

Other features: 

  • Personalized daily goals to create a personalized plan for your self-guided therapy.
  • Daily tasks and exercises to motivate you to work on yourself every day.
  • Anxiety and depression assessment to keep track of your progress.
  • Mood, sleep, and other activities trackers.
  • Charts that show you how different activities affect your mood.
  • Different tools to help you cope with difficulties and overcome distress.
  • Daily gratitude journal to remind you of the good you have.
  • Option to add pictures to your daily mood log.

Promising review:  

“I downloaded this app because I was looking for a way to take note of my mood and the factors that affect it. Moodfit does that and has various other tools that I didn’t even know I would find useful. I’ve not been using it for long and haven’t yet tried the Pro version, but I’ve already found the CBT thought record function useful, and the ability to customize your daily goals really helpful too.” – Sophie

 

Platforms: 

 

Price: 

  • Freemium
  • 1 year – $39.99
  • Lifetime – $99.99

 

MindDoc

MindDoc is a risk class I medical device because it monitors signs and symptoms of several most common mental disorders. The app has a unique feature that can help you detect the smallest sign of mental health issue before it becomes bigger problem. Upon starting to use the app, over a course of 14 days, three times a day you will be prompted to answer a few questions. Based on those answers you will receive suggestions for practices and techniques to deal with issues you have or prevent those that might arise sometime in the future. 

CBT techniques used in the app:

  • Psychoeducation 
  • Behavioral activation 
  • Cognitive restructuring 
  • Problem-solving 
  • Relaxation 
  • Exposure 

Other features: 

  • Strategies to cope with a variety of mental health issues like depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, and eating disorders.
  • Daily prompts to monitor your well-being, track your progress, and offer personalized suggestions for courses and exercises.
  • Content is organized in modules to resemble guided therapy with a therapist.
  • Large library with courses to understand emotions, challenge thinking patterns, face fears, resolve conflicts, and take action to improve your well-being, pursue goals, and cope with difficulties.
  • Calendar with all your past check-in records at a glance.
  • A mood chart to better understand your mood patterns.

Promising review:  

“I’ve been using this app since mid December of 2019. It is the only self care app I have been able to be consistent with, including journals. Having mood tracking data is very helpful for ascertaining trends and sharing them with my psychiatrist. It would be even more helpful if I made notes of what I was experiencing during each check in, which there is an option for. I have not utilized the courses or paid for Plus to unlock more, but I imagine they are more potential help to be accessed.” – Aliya

 

Platforms: 

 

Price: 

  • Freemium
  • 3 months – $29.99
  • 6 months – $44.99
  • 1 year – $69.99

 

Sanvello

Sanvello was created in collaboration with researchers, therapists, and doctors to offer proven techniques to manage your mental health. Techniques are based on cognitive behavioral therapy and mindfulness meditation. The app offers a fully customizable therapy plan to help along with your self-guided therapy. A big part of therapy is community support, a space where you can, anonymously, share stories, advice, and personal experiences.

CBT techniques used in the app:

  • Psychoeducation
  • Behavior activation
  • Cognitive restructuring
  • Relaxation

Other features: 

  • Guided journeys with audio lessons and activities to cope with emotions, and build life skills like confidence, control over thoughts, and mood management.
  • Coping tools to manage stressful and anxiety-inducing situations like public speaking, test-taking, or morning dread.
  • Daily habit trackers to track things like exercise, sleep, caffeine intake, and any other habit you wish to track so that you can see how your habits affect your moods.
  • Hope Board where you can collect quotes, photos, progress, and useful content from other users to lift your spirit on bad days.
  • Chat groups to find your supportive community.

Promising review:  

“This app is like a personal therapist whenever you want it. Great guided exercises and meditations, a mood tracker and goal tracker, this app has it all. Because my passive personality, it is hard for me to drive my own treatment, but with Sanvello, all I have to do is start the app and it leads me. Even for someone more independent, everything is self paced. I highly recommend this program.” – Joshua

 

Platforms: 

 

Price: 

  • Freemium
  • Month: $8.99
  • Year: $53.99 

 

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Woebot

Woebot is a sort of AI-based therapist you carry in your pocket. It is available 24/7 and offers personalized, actionable suggestions to help you overcome your issues. The majority of features in the app are accessed through chat. It has a friendly approach, it’s very chatty and often makes jokes. Woebot is programmed to help you find the best CBT, DBT, or mindfulness technique to cope with and overcome your woes, and it guides you step-by-step through the whole process. 

CBT techniques used in the app:

  • Psychoeducation
  • Behavior activation
  • Cognitive restructuring
  • Relaxation

Other features: 

  • Chat with a chatbot that is programmed to help you deal with stress, anxiety, depression, procrastination, loneliness, grief, relationship issues, addiction, pain management, and much more.
  • Through daily check-ins, Woebot is learning more about you and is able to provide you with better support.
  • Mood charts to gain a better understanding of your emotional patterns.
  • Gratitude journal to keep you focused on all the good you have going on in your life.

Promising review:  

“Although the chat interface can be a little clunky, woebot is cheerful, funny, and full of good ideas. I don’t have very severe anxiety, but there have been some very stressful moments where I turned to woebot and it really helped to get me out of a downward spiral. I like that it explains the reasoning behind everything rather than just getting you to do exercises (although I suppose that’s the whole point of CBT, that you actually reason through what you’re thinking). Definitely recommend!” -A.

 

Platforms: 

 

Price: 

  • Free 

 

Wysa

Wysa is another popular AI-based self-guided therapy app. Wysa chatbot is using coaching conversational tools to guide you through different CBT and DBT techniques to help you cope and build resilience. Depending on your mood it can offer you appropriate mindfulness meditation exercises. Or if you just need some place to vent, Wysa is the perfect place to go to, it’s a safe space where you can let out all your frustrations without the worry of being judged.

CBT techniques used in the app:

  • Psychoeducation
  • Cognitive restructuring
  • Problem-solving
  • Relaxation

Other features: 

  • Tools to build confidence, manage anger and anxiety, improve productivity, learn how to manage conflicts, and solve problems.
  • SOS feature that offers grounding exercises in case of a panic attack, and guides you toward local and national crisis care helplines in case you experience serious distress.
  • Once a week 30-minute chat with a therapist as a part of the guided support plan (available only in some countries).

Promising review:  

“I’ve really enjoyed the app so far. I can info dump about things I feel good or bad about without judgement. it gives me informational articles linked to what I spoke about if I’m interested in reading further! it also helps to remind me to get active and that it doesn’t have to be a whole long workout. just a few minutes of gentle movement. if you have poor mental health, this app can definitely help.” – Chelsey

 

Platforms: 

 

Price: 

  • Freemium
  • Yearly $74.99
  • Guided Support (Monthly) $79.99
  • Guided Support (Quarterly) $144.99
  • 1:1 Life Coaching Sessions $29.99

 

Youper

Youper has two parts to the app, one is an AI-based therapy chatbot that you can turn to with your current issue and it will help you find appropriate CBT technique to deal with your problem. The tone of the chatbot is very soothing, and the app itself looks very clean and calming. The second part is teletherapy and behavioral coaching with a therapist or coach, but for now, it’s only available in two countries. 

CBT techniques used in the app:

  • Psychoeducation 
  • Behavioral activation 
  • Cognitive restructuring 
  • Problem-solving 
  • Relaxation 

Other features: 

  • Chatbot guides you through CBT activities and techniques to help you cope with anxiety and depression.
  • Mood trackers to gain awareness of your mood patterns.
  • Mood folders that show you how different lifestyle factors influence your moods.
  • Behavioral coaching, zoom talks with a therapist, and medication management are available in some countries.

Promising review:  

“Very helpful. It’s kind of like guided journaling. It causes you to access your state and take control by reflecting on how you are doing. I only used it for a couple weeks and start feeling way better and stopped using it. But I’m going back to it after couple months cause it was so beneficial. The AI feels very nice, kind and peaceful in its manner and communication. It is a very gentle approach to wellness. It helps you feel less stressed/better. The creators and programmers did a great job!” – A.

 

Platforms: 

 

Price: 

  • Monthly $36

 

CBT Companion

A comprehensive tool for CBT-based self-guided therapy. The app contains a huge library of over 200 CBT exercises and it keeps expanding. And a large library of guided meditations to practice mindfulness, relaxation, coping, and more.

CBT techniques used in the app:

  • Psychoeducation 
  • Behavioral activation 
  • Cognitive restructuring 
  • Relaxation 
  • Exposure

Other features: 

  • Daily mood tracker to monitor your emotions and gain awareness of your emotional patterns.
  • Activities and sleep trackers to motivate you to take care of your physical health. 
  • Gratitude and reflection journals to practice counting blessings and paying attention to what’s happening in your life every day.
  • Assessments and quizzes to track your progress and check your knowledge of CBT techniques
  • Set reminders for dairy entries, tracking entries, meditation, affirmations, and more.

Promising review:  

“I really like it. I like how it gives you tests to see how your mental state is, and what you can do about it. There’s also a good selection of courses/strategies to help with whatever you’re experiencing with traumas, etc. Good thing to help when you’re away from counselor… At least you can keep tabs privately about your journals/tasks and track your progress.” – Zack

 

Platforms: 

 

Price: 

  • Monthly $9.99
  • 6 months $49.99

 

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CBT-based self-guided therapy apps comparison table

APP NAME PSYCHO-

EDUCATION

BEHAVIORAL ACTIVATION COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING PROBLEM-SOLVING RELAXATION

EXPOSURE

29K

YES

NO NO YES YES

NO

CBT Tools

YES

YES YES NO YES

NO

Amaha

YES

YES YES NO YES

NO

Moodfit 

YES

YES YES NO YES

NO

MindDoc

YES

YES YES YES YES

YES

Sanvello

YES

YES YES NO YES

NO

Woebot

YES

YES YES NO YES

NO

Wysa

YES

NO YES YES YES

NO

Youper

YES

YES YES YES YES

NO

CBT Companion 

YES

YES YES NO YES

YES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CBT-based self-guided therapy apps provide an affordable and convenient way to maintain mental health and work on improving minor issues like stress, low mood, low self-esteem, and mild to moderate anxiety. Through the means of informative articles, instructional videos, and guided activities you can practice mental self-care anytime, anywhere. 

 

 

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