You Need One Of These Mental Health Apps On Your Phone, STAT

Ask any therapist, and they’ll tell you that everyone can benefit from therapy. It can help you work through any mental health issues you might be facing, like anxiety and depression, and help you overcome everything from deep-seeded commitment phobia to imposter syndrome. Just having someone who will listen to and decode all your concerns in relationships, with family, at work, or generally in life (because hey, it's hard) can be extremely helpful for your mental health.

The only problem is...therapy can be expensive, and not everyone has health insurance that will cover it. What’s more, you might be so busy that it’s hard to find the time to visit a therapist for even an hour every week. Then again, you might already go to therapy but want something more, like access to a therapist or certain therapy tools even when your specific therapist isn’t available. In all of those cases, a therapy app can be a great solution. Mental health apps allow you to dip your toes into the various therapy methods before making a commitment to seeing a therapist in person, and they can also help you supplement any traditional therapy you're already doing.

While an app certainly doesn't replace traditional therapy, especially for people who use it to manage anxiety or depression, they're worth checking out. “Apps that support therapy can be very helpful,” says Rosara Torrisi, PhD, a sex and relationship therapist. If you're not sure where to start, talking with a therapist to figure out what your therapy goals are can help you narrow down which apps make sense for you.

To start, check out these 25 therapist-recommended apps that either provide therapy from a professional or help you continue your therapy, mental health, self-care, or mindfulness work outside of the office.