May 1 marked the start of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Observed in May in the U.S. since 1949, the month was created by the Mental Health America organization to destigmatize and draw attention to the importance of mental health care.
While stigmas around mental health are on their way out, there’s still a lack of men going to get mental health treatment, particularly Black and Hispanic men. According to the American Psychological Association, while 45.4% of white men received treatment for symptoms of anxiety and depression, only 26.4% of Black and Hispanic men went to get care for these same mental health problems.
In honor of this month, here are five mental health care apps for men to download.
- Tethr: Men’s Mental Health: Co-founded by grief counsel Allison Brazil, this app helps all men with their mental health by connecting them with other men who have had similar experiences. Motivated by their goal to create a safe space for men to heal and get rid of the toxic masculinity that surrounds mental health issues amongst men, the app offers forums for everyone to participate and share their thoughts along with one-on-ones to connect men with specific issues. Tethr also offers “accountability pods” to help the users navigate through the virtual program together. The app is available for free on the App Store and Google Play, but costs $23 per month per user to use.
- Kilo: While this app hasn’t been released yet and is still in development, it’s advertised as helping men explore their moods and feelings. Featuring a smooth interface with comic book-inspired graphics, the app is modeled around audio that can help explain and suit the user’s mood. The app also has people record their thoughts to share with the other users for comments in an imitation of a therapeutic session. After 72 hours, their “insights” disappear.
- HeChangedIt: The It’s Tough to Talk: Created by Discovery College and mobile platform HeChangedIt, this course helps men learn how to talk about mental health to break through the stigma that surrounds men talking about their feelings. Allowing the men to go through the course at their own pace, the program offers the users videos of men talking about their personal experiences to help them build communication skills and relationship-building skills. The program is available for free through the HeChangedIt app on Google Play and the App Store.
- Sanvello: Although this app caters to everyone, including men, Sanvello helps users with stress, anxiety and depression through cognitive behavioral therapy. Through the app, users can access experts through one-on-one virtual therapy sessions and messaging to speak about whatever’s on their mind. Sanvello also creates a community where users can connect with each other to speak about their personal experiences. If the user doesn’t want to speak with a professional or other users, they’re also given the tools to self care. To use the program, Sanvello is available for free on the App Store and Google Play, but costs $8.99 a month to use.
- Talkspace: While this app also isn’t made to cater specifically to just men, Talkspace can help men with a variety of issues such as depression, relationships, trauma, grief and more. Allowing users to choose the type of support they want, the app has licensed professionals for couples, individuals, teens, veterans and those that want help with medication management available for video call sessions. Working with a diverse group of medical experts, users get the option to choose which therapist they feel most comfortable talking to. The app also provides a phone and messaging service to speak to professionals as well as tests such as mental health check-ups to be done by the user themselves. The app is available on the Google Play and App Store for free, but users will have to choose a plan ranging from $69 to $129 a week to use it.
