10 Therapist-Approved Mental Health Apps to Support Your Well-Being Between Sessions

Looking for an app that can support your mental health between therapy sessions?

Recently our team of therapists here at Denver Wellness Center joined together to explore how technology can support our client’s overall wellness and movement towards their therapy goals!  Each therapist shared their favorite mental health app, tried and tested, with positive reviews from real clients!  

Below, you will see a comprehensive, therapist-backed guide to the top 10 mental health apps designed to help clients build emotional awareness, manage anxiety, and sustain healthy routines. Each section includes expert insights, user feedback, and practical tips for integrating these apps into therapy.

1. How We Feel

Core features: Emotional journaling with daily mood tracking, reflection prompts, and visual emotion wheels to help clients identify where they are emotionally.
Therapeutic benefit: Promotes emotional granularity, helping users move beyond "good/bad" to more accurate feeling words—a known boost for emotion-regulation abilities.
Use in therapy: Share mood graphs during sessions, spot patterns, and collaboratively co-create coping strategies for emotional triggers.

2. UCLA Mindful

Core features: Guided meditations (5–20 minutes), mindfulness tutorials, podcasts, and silent timers—from UCLA's Mindful Awareness Research Center.
Therapeutic benefit: Backed by research showing mindfulness practices reduce stress, anxiety, and depression.
Use in therapy: Assign daily 5–10 minute sessions, review how mindfulness felt, and integrate into homework.

3. Finch (formerly Self-Care Pet)

Core features: Gamifies self-care through a virtual pet that thrives when users complete habits like hydration, exercise, meditation, and gratitude journaling.
Therapeutic benefit: Ideal for clients with ADHD, low motivation, or depression, using playfulness and reminders to establish routines.
Use in therapy: Set one small self-care goal weekly; discuss wins and obstacles in session.

4. Dubbii (Body-Doubling App)

Core features: Co-working timer with real-time audio/video where users “body double” each other during tasks like cleaning, studying, or self-care.
Therapeutic benefit: Enhances task initiation and follow-through—especially helpful for those with ADHD or executive function challenges.
Use in therapy: Schedule a weekly goal task; afterward, debrief progress and barriers.

5. Betwixt (The Mental Health Game)

Core features: A fantasy narrative app that uses interactive storytelling, journaling prompts, and reflection to explore emotions and thought patterns.
Therapeutic benefit: A playful gateway to CBT-style reflection without feeling like extra homework.
Use in therapy: Pair with reflective questions: “What did the dragon symbolize about your stress response?” and tie insights to real-life action.

6. Smiling Mind

Core features: A free, non-profit app with structured mindfulness programs tailored for kids, teens, adults, workplace groups, and families.
Therapeutic benefit: Offers age-appropriate, research-based mindfulness, unlike many general apps.
Use in therapy: Assign program-specific modules (e.g., “Teen Sleep”) and discuss progress and mindfulness challenges.

7. I Am (Daily Affirmations)

Core features: Sends scheduled or periodic positive affirmations, some with audio, to help reframe negative thoughts.
Therapeutic benefit: Reinforces self-compassion and positive self-talk—key for self-esteem and negative thought loops.
Use in therapy: Customize affirmations and integrate into sessions on self-belief and narrative change.

8. DBT Coach 

Core features: A robust Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) tool offering psychoeducation (100+ videos, 200+ animations), diary cards, behavior tracking, skill exercises, crisis management, meditations, and community features. It integrates with clinician portals for homework and feedback 
Therapeutic benefit: Supports all DBT skill modules—Mindfulness, Emotion Regulation, Distress Tolerance, Interpersonal Effectiveness—with direct application through homework and diary tracking. Research shows it reduces distress and self-harm urges when used alongside therapy .
Use in therapy: Co-create a weekly plan—e.g., complete diary cards, practice a “DEAR MAN” script, prep a crisis survival strategy. Track homework completion and discuss in session.

9. Insight Timer 

Core features: Massive library of free guided meditations, ambient music, talks, and courses hosted by a variety of practitioners.
Therapeutic benefit: Offers diversity—secular, spiritual, sleep, anxiety-release—and is suitable for a range of client preferences.
Use in therapy: Explore meditation styles tailored to client needs—e.g., use a "self-compassion" track after exploring guilt.

10. Headspace (with Ebb AI Companion)

Core features: Guided meditation plus “Ebb,” an AI companion that offers mood-based check-ins and personalized micro-conversations.
Therapeutic benefit: Blends mindfulness and AI-driven reflective support, ideal for younger or tech-savvy clients.
Use in therapy: Compare Ebb’s responses with therapy insights: where do they align or diverge, and what does that reveal?

🎯 Integrating These Apps into Therapy

1. Align with therapy goals

Choose apps based on where the client is in therapy—emotional insight (How We Feel), routine-building (Finch, Dubbii), CBT-based skills (DBT Coach), mindfulness (UCLA, Smiling Mind), or self-esteem building (I Am).

2. Start small & structured

Pilot one app for two weeks. Co-define simple usage goals—e.g., "Do 3 diary entries in DBT Coach."

3. Monitor & share

Ask for screenshots or app-generated summaries. Use them to explore patterns, wins, or stuck points in sessions.

4. Celebrate micro-wins

Highlight small successes: “You used Dubbii today—how did that feel? What helped?”

5. Recalibrate or pause

If an app feels like a burden, normalize breaking from it. Rotate apps or shift focus based on client feedback.

Comparative Summary Table

App	Focus	Therapeutic Role
How We Feel	Mood journaling	Builds emotional literacy; trend spotting
UCLA Mindful	Mindfulness teaching	Reduces stress, supports anxiety management
Finch	Gamified self-care routines	Supports routine-building, motivation for ADHD/depression
Dubbii	Body-doubling tasks	Boosts task initiation and completion
Betwixt	Narrative-based reflection	Low-pressure thought exploration
Smiling Mind	Structured mindfulness programs	Age-tailored, research-based mindfulness
I Am	Daily affirmations	Builds self-esteem and positive self-talk
DBT Coach	Full DBT skill training	Strengthens emotion regulation, crisis coping, and DBT homework
Insight Timer*	Wide meditation variety	Flexible mindfulness selection
Headspace + Ebb*	AI-assisted meditation	On-demand reflective support for tech-lovers

Examples for integration with therapy based on therapy goals:

1. Client A (ADHD focus)

• Uses Dubbii daily to get started on tasks.

• Logs self-care habits in Finch to build routine.

2. Client B (Emotion regulation)

• Tracks emotions in How We Feel.

• Practices DBT Coach: three diary entries per week, plus weekly skill exercise.

3. Client C (Stress & burnout)

• Meditates daily using UCLA Mindful or Smiling Mind.

• Reinforces with Insight Timer self-compassion tracks.

4. Client D (Negative self-talk)

• Sets affirmation prompts in I Am.

• Reads or listens to affirmations when low.

• Journals with Betwixt on underlying beliefs.

🙌 Getting Started Guide for Clients

1. Identify your top goal: e.g., building routine (Finch, Dubbii), managing mood (How We Feel, MoodKit), reducing anxiety (UCLA Mindful, Smiling Mind), or boosting self-esteem (I Am).

2. Begin small: Pick one app and set a 2-week “pilot” period.

3. Use a shared log sheet: Track use, mood, and reflections—bring to therapy.

4. Celebrate consistency and insights: Even small daily check-ins matter.

5. Make adjustments: Swap apps as goals evolve—combine or pause if needed.

Final Word

At Denver Wellness Counseling we prioritize our client’s health both inside and outside the therapy office.  Over the years, each therapist has found their favorite apps to recommend to and support clients outside of session. 

Whether you’re tracking moods with How We Feel, strengthening mindful habits with UCLA Mindful or Smiling Mind, building routines with Finch or Dubbii, reframing thoughts with Betwixt, practicing core skills for self regulation with DBT Coach, or cultivating positivity with I Am, there’s a thoughtfully designed tool to match every therapeutic goal.