Most therapists recognize the benefits of utilizing therapy apps in their practice. But with the vast array of choices in the market, it’s easy to become overwhelmed.
To help you decide on the best therapy apps for your business, we’ve done a roundup for you.
Whether you want all-inclusive practice management software or an intuitive solution to set your clients’ homework tasks between sessions—you’re bound to find something to help your practice thrive in this list of top online therapy apps for 2023.
5 Best Apps for Online Therapy
The truth is, because each practitioner has different needs and works with varying client groups, no app is right for every therapist.
In light of this, the sensible approach to choosing the best online therapy apps is to base the decision on the unique needs of you and your clients.
To help you with that, we’ve outlined our top pick for therapy apps in different categories, so you can decide which one will be most beneficial for your practice.
1. Quenza
The best to increase engagement, scale your practice, and provide automated care.
Overview
Designed for therapists and coaches in all areas of practice, Quenza solves the three biggest issues facing modern practitioners:
- Unscalable care
- Client disengagement
- Practice expansion
Key Features
- Easily send pre-made exercises, reflections, videos, messages, and meditations to keep clients engaged and inspired between sessions.
- Streamline administrative work with digital intake forms, progress notes, contracts, and assessments.
- Track and share your clients’ progress with assessments, feedback, and goal-tracking charts.
Pricing: 3 tiers, from $49-$149 per month
More info: Quenza
2. TheraNest
Top choice online therapy platform for those who need a fully-featured electronic health record and billing system.
Overview
Described as “Advanced practice management software for solo or group practices,” TheraNest provides a fully-featured electronic health record, scheduling, billing, and telehealth system.
Key Features
- Paperless records, customizable note templates, and intelligent scheduling tools.
- A client portal that enables secure messaging, electronic therapy intake forms, and online bill payment.
- Optional telehealth and revenue cycle management tools.
Pricing: From $39-$91+ per month, depending on active clients
More info: TheraNest
3. Unwinding Anxiety
Perfect for therapists whose clients need additional support to manage anxiety.
Overview
With real-world clinical studies proving its effectiveness, Unwinding Anxiety® is an evidence-based program clients can use to complement your treatment plan or as a stand-alone intervention.
Key Features
- A structured, app-based course with treatment modules and a supportive community.
- Assists users to identify and work with the thought patterns and triggers underlying anxiety.
- Practical anti-anxiety tools that can be used as needed when stress arises.
Pricing: $29 per month, with discounts for longer subscriptions
More info: Unwinding Anxiety®
4. Ten Percent Happier
The best mindfulness and meditation companion for therapy.
Overview
More of a platform than a mental health app, Ten Percent Happier includes digital content, activities, and tools in a variety of formats, to help people learn mindfulness and meditation from some of the best teachers around the world.
Key Features
- A huge library of 500+ guided meditations on topics as diverse as worry, relationships, happiness, stress, and habits.
- Teachings on the theory and practice of meditation, so users can understand the science and philosophy of mindfulness.
- A diverse array of content, including podcasts, videos, and meditation challenges.
Pricing: $99.99 per year
More info: Ten Percent Happier
5. Talkspace
Best of the mental health apps that take insurance.
Allied health clinicians frequently use physical therapy apps, occupational therapy apps, and speech therapy apps for adults in their practice. But they will often have clients who need help with mental health or relationship issues. When this occurs, Talkspace could be a solution.
Overview
Talkspace offers the full spectrum of mental health treatment from licensed clinicians, including individual counseling, couples therapy, mental health care for teens, psychiatric input, and services for businesses and schools.
Key Features
- An easy assessment process and personalized match with a therapist within 48 hours.
- One of the only comprehensive online talk therapy apps that take insurance.
- A complete digital mental health treatment service for individuals, couples, and families.
Pricing: Varying prices depending on the service
More info: Talkspace
Choosing a Therapy App: Tips for Mental Health Professionals
When choosing therapy apps for your practice, it’s important to make decisions based on two overarching principles:
1. Your business goals
- Are you trying to grow and expand?
- Is your goal to streamline your practice to improve work-life balance?
- Would you like to offer a new type of therapy or coaching?
- Do you prefer providing in-person therapy, digital only, or a mix of the two?
- What is your budget?
2. Your clients’ needs
- Is there a common issue faced by your clients that could be solved by an app?
- What are your clients interested in or asking for?
- Do your clients prefer face-to-face therapy, or messaging and self-led interventions?
- Are there client needs that could be addressed by things like a cognitive behavioral therapy app, or one of the best speech therapy apps?
- Would your clients use a paid solution or only therapy apps for free?
Keeping these two principles in mind will ensure that you and your clients get the most benefit and value from any online therapy apps you incorporate into your practice.
Compare The Top Therapy Apps
App | Best For | Price | Trial Offer |
| Therapists who want to increase engagement, scale their practice, and provide automated care. | 3 tiers, from $49-$149 per month | First month for $1 | |
| Practitioners looking for a fully-featured EHR product that can handle insurance claims and billing. | From $39-$91+ per month, depending on number of active clients | Free 21-day trial | |
| An additional or stand-alone product to assist clients with anxiety. | $29 per month, with discounts for longer subscriptions | First four modules free | |
| Clinicians who want an easy way to support clients to learn meditation and mindfulness. | $99.99 per year | 7-day free trial | |
| When a client has mental health needs that can not be met through your service (e.g., they might need relationship therapy or medication management). | Varying prices depending on the service | No |
How To Use Apps for Therapy Notes
Administrative burden is a challenge for healthcare professionals and therapists throughout the world.[1]
And while the solution will vary depending on each practice area, there is one common pain point for all clinicians—case notes.
A high-quality therapy notes app can take much of the headache out of documentation by giving you a private, encrypted, and secure place to store your notes. Not only that, but specialized features like Quenza’s Notes can help you date-stamp notes, organize them, and even collaborate on them with your clients.
Here’s an example of Quenza’s HIPAA-compliant progress notes feature written on a SOAP notes template:
If you’re looking for tips on using the SOAP structure, check out our guide to SOAP notes for occupational therapy.
Using Software for Group and Couples Therapy
With a thoughtful approach, apps for couples therapy and group therapy can enhance the effectiveness of your online or in-person work. Some clinicians even use therapy apps to design and deliver stand-alone group and couples therapy programs that don’t rely on traditional methods of clinician-client interaction.
The key point to be aware of here is engagement, as research shows this is a key characteristic of the best therapy apps.[2]
To facilitate this, Quenza has several unique features like Quenza Groups that make it an ideal choice for a group and couples therapy app.
Online group therapy with Quenza is as easy as:
- Creating a group from existing or new clients
- Sharing Activities with participants (like the one below)
- Developing Pathways (sequential groups of related activities) for group members
Couples therapy can be done in a similar manner, but the therapist would tailor Activities and educational materials to the specific needs of the couple.
For example, the worksheet below might be useful for a couple preoccupied with the negative aspects of their relationship:
Delivering Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Online
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a therapeutic approach that’s proven to be effective in treating anxiety disorders, depression, eating disorders, stress, chronic pain, insomnia, and several other conditions.[3]
Interestingly, research suggests CBT may be as effective online as in person, making this approach ideally suited to cognitive behavioral therapy apps.[4]
Designed especially for CBT practitioners, Quenza has a library of pre-made science-based exercises, tools, and assessments that can be used by therapists and coaches to deliver CBT online. The platform also includes features such as the Wheel of Life that make easy work of designing custom interventions.
Here’s an example of how a text and video-based exercise can be used to teach clients the CBT principle of cognitive restructuring:
And this is the in-app view when building a treatment planning Pathway for anxiety management in Quenza.
For more ready-made worksheets and exercises on cognitive-behavioral therapy, take a look at our resource for CBT worksheets.
Final Thoughts
With the move to mental health care becoming more digitized, therapy apps are a must for practitioners who want to grow their businesses and deliver the highest-quality care to clients.
The good news is there are a lot of choices in the market today. So to find the best therapy apps for you and your clients, review your options and choose the product that’s most aligned with your goals and your clients’ needs.
Of the products we’ve covered in this article, Quenza is the most fully-featured and flexible online therapy app to increase client engagement, scale your practice, and manage the daily administrative duties of your therapy business.
To get started, sign up for a one-month full-access trial of the Quenza app for only $1.
References
- ^ Heuer A. J. (2022). More Evidence That the Healthcare Administrative Burden Is Real, Widespread and Has Serious Consequences Comment on 'Perceived Burden Due to Registrations for Quality Monitoring and Improvement in Hospitals: A Mixed Methods Study'. International Journal of Health Policy and Management, 11(4), 536–538.
- ^ Chandrashekar, P. (2018). Do mental health mobile apps work: evidence and recommendations for designing high-efficacy mental health mobile apps. Mhealth, 4.
- ^ Hofmann, S. G., Asnaani, A., Vonk, I. J., Sawyer, A. T., & Fang, A. (2012). The Efficacy of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Review of Meta-analyses. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 36(5), 427–440.
- ^ Kambeitz-Ilankovic, L., Rzayeva, U., Völkel, L., Wenzel, J., Weiske, J., Jessen, F., & Kambeitz, J. (2022). A systematic review of digital and face-to-face cognitive behavioral therapy for depression. NPJ Digital Medicine, 5(1), 144.
