Addiction Recovery Has Gone Digital — Yes, There’s an App for That

These days many of our daily tasks are going digital, addiction recovery apps included. And while digital applications will likely never fully replace the benefits of real-time, face-to-face interactions and support programs, apps bring with them more pros than cons. For example, they’re available at the critical point when someone needs to reach out for help, regardless of the time of day. They’re also available right where they’re needed, as smartphones have become ubiquitous over recent years, making access available to anyone with an Internet connection.

Finally, one sizeable benefit of addiction recovery apps relates to their affordability. At a time when healthcare and therapeutic costs frequently move therapy and counseling programs out of reach for many people, apps are often available at little to no cost. Five of the more popular apps assisting those in recovery follow.

Headspace

Helps those in recovery replace old habits with new, healthier habits such as meditation. The app features hundreds of guided meditation sessions designed to help you achieve better mental health by reducing anxiety, depression, and pain through mindfulness. Choose from a wide range of themes including stress and anxiety relief, personal growth, work and productivity, and physical health mindfulness training.

Headspace offers a free two-week trial, with paid annual and monthly subscriptions available ($69.99 per year and $12.99 per month).

SoberTool

Developed by a Harvard educated licensed chemical dependency counselor, SoberTool is structured to replace relapse thinking with recovery thinking. Regardless of the addiction, SoberTool offers critical, immediate help and even trains coping skills. Valuable features include a sobriety counter that tracks days clean as well as money saved, rewards, encouraging daily motivational messages and notifications, and a process that asks what an individual is currently struggling with and then delivers targeted advice.

SoberTool is free to download.

Sober Grid

A social networking app, Sober Grid works the connection model to help those in recovery overcome the daily challenges to achieve their sobriety goals. Giving users the option to share at their discretion or remain anonymous, Sober Grid connects members with other sober peers nearby, enabling them to chat and send private messages. Like many apps related to drug and alcohol addiction recovery, Sober Grid offers a sobriety calculator to track days of sobriety. Another useful feature, Burning Desire, lets the member send an urgent notification to find someone to talk to immediately.

Sober Grid is free but also offers a more robust version for $4.

Nomo

Built by an individual on his own recovery journey, the Nomo sobriety tracking app is designed to help individuals in recovery stay motivated and focused on their sobriety goals. Features include a sobriety tracking device complete with recovery milestone rewards, the capability to share valuable information with accountability partners, and a forum for reading and submitting encouragement messages among the community. One additional benefit is a tool that keeps a running total of the money saved since the start of recovery.

The Nomo app is free to download.

reSET

reSET from Pear Therapeutics is the first mobile addiction recovery app approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Available by prescription only and designed for use between patient and clinician, reSET offers a 12-week program made up of lessons, quizzes, and virtual rewards. The app helps patients take control of their recovery, learn valuable methods to manage their condition(s), and encourage individuals to both abstain from substance use during treatment and continue their participation in an outpatient program afterward.

Pear reSET is free to download, but as previously mentioned, only available via prescription.