Hey everyone! As a follow-up to our overview of mental health services on campus, here’s a guide to some of the great websites and smartphone applications you can try. There’s a lot of information and support available for free, and I hope this post offers some useful suggestions. I’ve starred the most impressive resources I’ve found.
Websites
- *The Mighty: The Mighty is an awesome website that features writing from people with all sorts of different mental health conditions, as well as other health issues and neurological differences. It’s a wonderful community where you can read personal stories from individuals who share your experiences.
- The TLC Foundation for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors: The term “body-focused repetitive behavior” applies to conditions including compulsive hair pulling, skin-picking, and nail-biting. This website is a great source of information and support for disorders that affect many people but are very rarely addressed.
- *Crisis Text Line: This website gives information about a free, 24/7 text line you can use in a moment of emotional crisis. You have a text conversation with a “Crisis Counselor” who helps you calm down and can refer you to other resources.
- Intrusive Thoughts: This website offers simple, clear information about OCD, or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. It discusses specific types of OCD as well as different treatments.
- National Eating Disorder Association (NEDA): This organization is an amazing nonprofit that provides support for people struggling with eating disorders. The website has reliable information as well as resources like a free hotline and links to online support.
- Anxiety Canada: This website is a great source of information about various anxiety-related disorders. Anxiety Canada also provides self-help plans for all the conditions they cover, which you can find here.
- Anxiety and Depression Association of America: ADAA is a national nonprofit that provides support for individuals with depression as well as anxiety disorders. Here is a page with resources for teens and college students.
- National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI): NAMI is another great nonprofit that provides opportunities to support individuals with mental illnesses, on both an individual and national basis. It also includes information and support for specific conditions.
- Mental Health America: This site has a specific page for college students here and a site with screens and support for specific conditions here. The site also has about mental health for minority groups, as well as mental health screening tools in Spanish.
- Reach Out: This website is a great resource specifically for teenagers and young adults. It’s easy to use and also has a useful page reviewing a lot of mental health apps.
- Mental Health Coalition: a website with different “roadmaps” on navigating mental health as well as a huge library of resources
Apps
- *Youper: This is great app that I’ve tried myself. It uses artificial intelligence to help you track your mood and leads you through cognitive behavioral therapy exercises that can be really helpful. The app also includes health monitoring for conditions like depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
- *nOCD: nOCD is an app that offers support to people with obsessive-compulsive disorder. It was created with insight from OCD professionals, and you can do exposure therapy and communicate with other users in the app.
- *Recovery Record: This is an app for eating disorder recovery that many clinicians use with their patients, although anyone can use it. Recovery Record provides meal logging and lots of support, as well as prizes for progress.
- Aloe Bud: Aloe Bud is a cute app that offers you reminders, reflections, and tracking for self care.
- Insight Timer: This is a meditation app that has tons of different guided meditations to choose from. Unlike many other apps (like Headspace, which I’ve tried), it’s totally free. Definitely check it out!
- Pacifica: Pacifica is a mood tracker app that has different tools to manage stress, anxiety, and depression. There is an option to upgrade the app with a paid subscription, but even the free version offers helpful resources.
- *Mindshift: This app is really awesome, and it has a bunch of different activities to track and manage anxiety. It’s completely free and I highly recommend checking it out!
- Relax Melodies: This app offers a variety of relaxing sounds that you can mix together, like rain, fire crackling, and crickets chirping. It’s just a nice way to calm down.
- Self Care: This is a really unique and relaxing app that offers a variety of different activities to practice mindfulness. The design is beautiful and customizable, and as you continue to use the app, more features become available.
- What’s Up: This is a simple app designed to help you users cope with various mental health issues through thought tracking, forums, and various activities.
Resources for People of Color
- NAMI Indigenous Mental Health Resources
- We R Native: a health resource written for and by Native young people, that provides information on improving mood, specific mental health issues, seeking help, and more
- Indian Health Service: includes information on a variety of health topics, including suicide prevention, as well as support for finding health care
- Black Mental Wellness: organization with worksheets, fact sheets, and trainings
- Black Emotional and Mental Health: Organization that seeks to remove barriers to mental health treatment and healing in Black communities; has a great library of resources
- NAMI Black/African American Mental Health Resources: an informational page and list of more resources
- NAMI Hispanic/Latinx Mental Health Resources: an informational page and list of more resources
- NAMI Compartiendo Esperanza Program: a video series that explores mental health in Latinx communities and includes captions in Spanish; check out this accompanying bilingual booklet on mental health
- Latinx Therapy: Organization attempting to “destigmatize mental health in the Latinx community” that includes a directory of therapists, a bilingual podcast, and other resources
- NAMI Asian American and Pacific Islander Mental Health Resources: an informational page and list of more resources
- National Asian American Pacific Islander Mental Health Association: Includes a directory to service providers in all 50 states, information about projects and advocacy, and more
- Asian Mental Health Project: Offers research to help find a therapist, a weekly online check-in, and more information
- National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network (NQTTCN): a directory of QTPOC therapists
- MHC BIPOC Mental Health Resources
- NAMI Roundup of BIPOC Mental Health Resources
- NQTTCN Mental Health Resources
- Mental Health and Wellness Resources for Students of Color
- Steve Fund Crisis Text Line: young people of color can text STEVE to 741741 to speak to a trained crisis counselor, 24/7
- The Loveland Foundation: helps provide funding to people of color for all kinds of mental health issues
Feel free to reach out if you find one of these resources particularly useful or if you have your own suggestions!
-Charlotte
