Table 2.
Characteristics of mental health mobile apps for preadolescents and adolescents included in review (N=15).
| App name | Descriptiona | Main featuresa | OSb | Available to downloadc | Area targetedd |
| CopeSmart [26,39] | App to foster positive mental health in children and young people | Self-monitoring of mood, mood diary, coping tips, and contact details of mental health support services | Android & iOS | NA | Mental well-being |
| Crisis Care [30] | App for suicide prevention in children and young people to be downloaded on discharge from acute care | Coping skills (relaxation, behavioral activation, positive affect) and contact details of suicide hotline and adults they trust | Prototype /NR | NA | Suicide prevention |
| Daybuilder [27] | A “life management app” for people with depression | Symptom assessment, mood, appetite, and sleep self-monitoring, functions to let the user create events and reminders for what to do to prepare for that event, medication management | Android | NA | Depression |
| Mayo Clinic Anxiety Coach [42,48] | A self-help tool delivering CBT for a range of anxiety disorders | Self-monitoring, symptom assessment, psychoeducation, and treatment based on exposure therapy | iOS | Yes | OCD |
| Mobiletype [34,35,44-46] | A “mental health assessment and management app” for children and young people | Self-monitoring tool; prompts users 4 times a day to record mood, stressful events, alcohol use, cannabis use, quality and quantity of sleep, quantity and type of exercise, and diet | Cross- platform | NA | Mental health |
| Mobile Mood Diary [28,29] | App for children and young people in therapy to chart their mood | Self-monitoring of mood, sleep, and energy and a free text diary entry; no password protection or reminders | Cross- platform | NA | Mental health |
| Pretty [47] | Gamified app to prevent body image issues in children and young people | App is a series of pictures of models of various sizes and questions asking the user to rate each model’s weight status to be either “extremely thin,” “thin,” “normal,” “big,” or “extremely big;” user gets feedback on whether their response was correct | Android & iOS | NA | Body image |
| REACH app [32] | App for anxiety prevention and early intervention in children and young people | Self-monitoring, resources, coping strategies, and CBT skills training | Android | NA | Anxiety |
| Recovery Record [40] | A CBT-based app for eating disorders self-monitoring | Self-monitoring of meals and symptoms, goal setting, coping tactics, meal plans, rewards and affirmations, social support, summative feedback | Android & iOS | Yes | Eating disorders |
| Safety Plan app [38] | Proposed app to support children and young people transitioning from inpatient to outpatient care | Intended to provide mobile access to pre-agreed safety plan for use in times of crisis and suicidal ideation | Prototype /NR | NA | Suicide prevention |
| SmartCAT [33] | App for children and young people with anxiety alongside brief CBT sessions | Skills coach, reward bank, media library, notifications, and secure messaging portal for use with therapist | Android | NA | Anxiety |
| The ACT app [41] | App for children and young people with depression attending therapy | Self-monitoring and symptom assessment, skills training, goal setting; based on acceptance and commitment therapy. | Android | NA | Depression |
| TickiT [37] | App-based psychosocial screening tool developed for children and young people attending hospital | Patients enter data in waiting room and the tool records response data, generating a report and alerts for clinicians, shifting clinical focus of the meeting | iOS | NA | Depression (screening) |
| No name [31] | App for recording medication adherence and symptoms in early psychosis care | Self-monitoring and symptom assessment; designed with daily and weekly surveys assessing symptoms, mood, medication adherence, and social contact | NR | NA | Early psychosis (medication adherence) |
| No name [36] | App for recording behaviors and skills practice, adjunct to group DBT | Self-monitoring and tracking of DBT skills and ED behaviors via mobile app or online | NR | NA | Eating disorders |
a CBT: cognitive behavioral therapy; DBT: dialectical behavioral therapy; ED: eating disorders.
b Cross-platform: article reports as JavaME app (Mobile Mood Diary) or “multiple models and firmware” (Mobiletype); NR: not reported; OS=operating system.
c NA: not available to download from Google Play, iTunes App Store, or Microsoft app store.
d Mental health: range of unspecified mental health problems.