With the technology galloping ahead, we are noticing more and more resources, including apps are appearing in the cyberspace. As of 2013 none were scientifically evaluated. Today, we have a handful. Thank you, Dr Rob Purssey from the Brisbane ACT Centre for compiling the list.
Australian ACT app – best available:
ACT Companion (most highly recommended) features over 25 powerful exercises and tools designed to help you get present, open up, and engage in a rich and meaningful life. “ACT Companion is brilliant. It’s far and away the most impressive ACT or mindfulness app I’ve seen yet” says Dr Russ Harris, internationally acclaimed ACT trainer & bestselling author. At $20 more expensive than others, but far more fully functioned. Great value for money.
Australian mindfulness apps:
Smiling Mind is modern meditation for young people.
It is a unique web and App-based program, designed to help bring balance to young lives.
It is a not-for-profit initiative based on a process that provides a sense of clarity, calm and contentment
Mind the Bump is a free Mindfulness Meditation App to help individuals and couples support their mental and emotional wellbeing in preparation for having a baby and becoming a new parent.
American
ACT Coach (only on iPhone for the present, intended shortly to on Android) is entirely free and was designed by the US Department of Veterans Affairs for Veterans, Service members and others who are in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) with a mental health professional and want to use an ACT App in conjunction with their therapy. It offers exercises, tools, information, and tracking logs so you can practice what you’re learning in your daily life.
SmartQuit Just released in Australia, SmartQuit uses ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) exercises to help people quit smoking. Developed and tested at Fred Hutch Cancer Research Center, SmartQuit is different than most smoking cessation programs. Smokers create a personal plan. They are then asked to become very aware of their urges to smoke. Lastly they learn new ways to think about those urges so that they can notice the urge to smoke, without acting on it. SmartQuit is also delivered completely over the privacy of your own smartphone. The Science based SmartQuit is the first smoking cessation “app” that has been tested in a randomized control trial. The preliminary trial was done with 198 smokers and suggests quit rates 2-3 times better than quitting on one’s own.
buddhify states it is “the most convenient, best value and most beautiful meditation app available today. Helping people around the world reduce stress, sleep better & be present in the midst of it all.” Certainly is the best looking mindfulness app!
English
The Sleep School App helps you practice The Sleep School sleep tools & techniques until you have mastered them for life. The app delivers The Sleep School approach across its 5 core areas in a highly interactive audio-visual format.
Headspace is meditation made simple. Learn online, when you want, wherever you are, in just 10 minutes a day. This is expensive, with a monthly subscription, which will add up over time.
Conscious This free Android only app suggests a different informal mindfulness task each day. You can set reminders to prompt you during the day and you are given the opportunity to report back on your progress each evening. An interesting aspect is that you get to see how many people have signed up to the task with you, creating a sense of community in using the app.