People seek psychiatric help with really high expectations. Many of their problems stem from things that can't be modified by treatment, things we have to help them cope with. Sometimes formal counseling sessions are not enough, and medications are just not the right way out. Sometimes we feel the need to be around our patients more often, but can't, firstly for lack of time, and secondly because we cannot barge into their lives like that. So we need to provide people tools that they can use themselves and thus cope better independently. Previously, doctors taught patients relaxation techniques for anxiety they could use when required. Now professional apps have made this training and assimilation much easier.
Talkspace
The app connects users to licensed therapists via messaging. Talkspace is not meant to substitute face-to-face therapy, and its therapists are trained to recognize when the app will fall short of the users' need for support. The app is free on iOS and android devices. At an additional cost it provides couples' therapy. A paid subscription will get you matched with a therapist who you can message 24/7. In app purchases also include live videos.
IntelliCare
Developed as a part of a study funded by the US National Institutes of Health, IntelliCare is a family of apps designed to support patients of depression and anxiety. Composed of a hub and 12 mini apps, the whole suite comes for free on android devices. The IntelliCare Hub is a platform to manage preferences. It recommends the mini-apps to its users based on their concerns. Among these are the apps Worry Knot, Thought Challenger, and iCope which mostly help patients learn and practice different techniques to cope with anxiety, mood swings, negative thoughts and the like.
SAM
When you find it difficult to cope with anxiety go to SAM: Self Help for Anxiety Management. Use it to record anxiety levels, identify triggers, and explore the 25 techniques designed to combat mental and physical symptoms. Once you have identified which tools are the handiest, create a personalized kit for ease of access.
Go online on the cloud to share experiences with other users. The app's interface is friendly and minimalist, and there is user guidance to boot.
CBT-i Coach
Another app by the US Department of Veterans Affairs' developed in association with the Stanford School of medicine, the CBT-i Coach app helps people suffering from insomnia using Cognitive Behavioral therapy (CBT), one of the sharpest tools of modern day psychiatry. CBT-i provides extensive patient education on sleep, its relationship with stress and depression, and different sleep disorders to watch out for. It sets up a sleep diary to assess and summarize patterns of insomnia and provides tools to quiet down and create new sleep habits. The app is available free on iOS and android devices.
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Psych On Demand
An app by William Lemley, Psych on Demand provides a collection of standard mental health screening tools on the go. It can come in handy to general practitioners in assessing psychiatric symptoms and initiating therapy. Of course a specialist referral might still be required. Specialists, trainees and medical students embarking on psychiatry rotations are the intended audiences. The app comes at a nominal fee on iOS and android devices. Over 30 psychiatric tools are programmed into the app, allowing binary entries and calculating results to suggest or exclude certain diagnoses.
Five More 'Must Have' Psychiatry Apps
Operation Reach Out
The app to turn to if someone is contemplating suicide. It makes people reassess their thought process. Reach out for a helping hand, and the app will make sure someone answers. Developed by the military but available for use by civilians, this app is available free of cost on the AppStore. The app contains a number of videos recorded by therapists, which can talk the involved person out of the stress. It also houses some activities that will dissipate tension and mellow down suicidal stress. Needless to say, it links to an emergency support system which might end up being life saving.
Breath2Relax
The app trains people in breathing exercises that help to cope with stress, anxiety, overwhelming emotions and depression. It’s free and available on the AppStore and Google Play. Breathing exercises do work if done right. It also helps when there is a guiding voice in times of turmoil. Definitely worth a try.
7 Cups
This app by 7 Cups of Tea offers free chats with 'listeners', a set of videos and tools to improve mindfulness, as well as paid sessions with therapists at $5 a day, including a three day free trial right at the beginning. The app is free on iOS and Android devices. Sophie, a bot, talks to you at the beginning, asking a few questions to define your problem and assign you to a therapist. You can fix up meetings with the therapist and talk, as many times you want in a day. The app also has a community to interact with. Available on iOS and Android devices for free the 7 cups app has great user ratings and is a treat to the eyes.
PTSD Coach
The PTSD Coach app was originally intended for veterans and military personnel. It does not diagnose PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but helps to assess and track the progression of symptoms and provides a number of tools to cope with them. The app educates its users on the disorder, and its treatment, with written material and audio files. It is available free of cost on AppStore and Google Play. The app was built by the US Department of Veterans Affairs' National Center for PTSD. Using the app may equally benefit civilians coping with the disorder. It facilitates storing personal contacts for immediate support, helps to locate support groups and treatment options nearby, and it can SOS the US national suicide hotline in moments of crises. The Center has also developed an app for family members of those living with PTSD, called PTSD Family Coach. The US app was modified and used by the government of Australia to serve its veterans and defense personnel.
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Optimism
Mood charting can be of real help in treating and coping with depression, dysthymia, bipolar disorders and anxiety. Users can detect patterns in their mood swings, identify triggers and formulate a personalized wellness plan to optimize their coping mechanisms. Self-tracking also improves the patient's reporting of their own condition to a professional psychiatrist or counselor, in turn helping to devise a customized treatment regime tailored to individual needs. The app generates charts over periods of weeks or months, which can be directly emailed to caregivers or health professionals. It is available free of charge on Mac, iOS and Windows devices.
- Photo courtesy of shutterstock.com
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