CBT Guide to Depression & Test app

This app is a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) based self-help guide for managing depression. It offers 3 main steps:

• An evaluation of depression (using self-report measures)
• CBT tools to manage depression (including education about depression, audio and video guides for relaxation and reframing thoughts, and activity and mood logs) and,
• Strategies to help change negative thinking styles (often associated with depression).

It also offers links to further professional assistance, but these do not seem relevant to NZ based users. The material in the app has been created by Monica A Frank (the founder of Excel at Life), who is an American clinical and sport psychologist, who also has an interest in Qi Gong martial art practice and a number of the videos incorporate this practice.

For the complete app description, go to the app website(external link), Google Play(external link), or, for a more detailed review, see reviews below.

Clinical review

Not recommended

Reviewer: David Bloore, Clinical Psychologist, David Bloore Psychology Ltd (private practice)
Date of review: February 2024
Platform: Android
Version: 2.1.1
Comments: While this app offers information about Depression and offers some CBT strategies to manage symptoms, I found that it was not an easy app to navigate. There is too much information to work through, with no clear process to follow in the app and unless you are familiar with CBT practice it would be difficult to navigate it without a mental health professional assisting you. The audio and video’s are not well made and would be unlikely to capture the attention and focus of someone struggling with depression. The references are mostly American-based and I would not recommend the use of this app as there are better app’s and websites available for NZ-based users.
Safety concerns: While I do not have particular safety concerns I would note that the information offered that relates to crisis management services is not relevant to NZ users and rather NZ based users should familiarise themselves with the crisis management services that are operating in their local area.
New Zealand relevance: While the information about depression and the CBT tools might be relevant, there are only links to American based resources (such as finding a CBT therapist) and American based crisis services.