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RESOURCES: Mental Health and Trauma apps, website, videos, podcasts

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Kids At Risk Action advocates for at-risk children through education and public discussion to discover better answers for improving the lives of at-risk children. They have generated these extensive resource lists to freely share with community members. The resources include websites, mental health apps, videos and more to help cope with and explain trauma.

MENTAL HEALTH TOOLKITS

For children and youth

For adults and caregivers with childhood trauma

Apps and online self‑help tools (teens and adults)

Crisis lines (U.S.)

  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
    24/7 free support by call, text, or chat for anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress.
    https://988lifeline.org​

  • Crisis Text Line
    Text 741741 (U.S.) for free 24/7 crisis support from trained volunteers.
    Listed under youth crisis resources at: https://connectsafely.org/resources-for-youth-in-crisis/​

  • National Child Abuse Hotline (ChildHelp)
    1‑800‑422‑4453 or text CHILDHELP to 847411; 24/7 hotline with professional crisis counselors; support for children, survivors, and concerned adults.
    https://www.childhelp.org/hotline/ (linked via TSN resources).​

  • The Trevor Project (LGBTQ youth)
    24/7 crisis and suicide‑prevention services for LGBTQ youth ages 13–24 (chat, text, phone).
    https://www.thetrevorproject.org/​

For schools, community groups, and advocates

​

VIDEOS & PODCASTS

Core explainer videos on ACEs and trauma

Video series on trauma‑informed care and resilience

Podcasts focused on ACEs and childhood trauma

Skill‑building and practice‑focused video content

APPS

Headspace and similar mindfulness apps

  • Headspace

  • Calm

    • Mindfulness, sleep stories, and relaxation exercises; widely used by teens and adults to manage anxiety and insomnia.​

  • Insight Timer

    • Free meditation library with thousands of guided practices, many focused on anxiety, trauma, and sleep.​

Trauma‑ and PTSD‑focused apps

Youth‑oriented mental‑health apps (useful for traumatized teens/kids)

  • MindShift CBT

    • CBT tools for anxiety and worry; often recommended for teens.​

  • Calm Harm

    • Skills for riding out urges to self‑harm using DBT‑style coping; targeted at teens and young adults.​

  • HappiMe (Green app for ages 4–11)

Aggregated lists you can mine further:

Emotion‑regulation and anxiety apps often recommended for kids (trauma‑informed in practice)

These aren’t labeled “trauma apps” but are commonly recommended by child‑mental‑health providers to help under‑12s with big feelings, worry, and self‑regulation, which are core trauma‑recovery skills.​

  • Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame (Sesame Street)
    Teaches preschool and early‑elementary kids to pause, breathe, think of solutions, and try them—exactly the kind of coping sequence used in trauma‑informed care.​

  • Daniel Tiger’s Grr‑ific Feelings
    Helps young kids label emotions, calm down when angry, and use music/activities to relax; very useful for children who struggle to express or regulate trauma‑related feelings.​

  • HappiMe (Green version: ages 4–11)
    Focuses on building self‑esteem and positive thinking through kid‑friendly exercises; endorsed by child‑abuse organizations as a free tool for younger children.​
    Info: https://www.happi-me.info (see Green app for ages 4–11)​

  • TogetherAI / other “feelings check‑in” apps
    Listed in “10 Free Mental Health Apps for Kids and Teens” as helping young children identify and track their emotions, with simple mood check‑ins and psychoeducation.​

  • Positive Penguins / similar CBT‑for‑kids apps
    Use stories and games to help children understand feelings and challenge negative thoughts, aligning with core CBT approaches used in child trauma treatment.​

Lists that aggregate these options:

NOTES

Important caveats from the research

  • A systematic review of mobile mental‑health apps for preadolescents and adolescents found very few apps with strong evidence, and many had privacy gaps or content not aligned with best‑practice guidelines.​

  • A 2025 co‑design study of a trauma‑support app based on Teaching Recovery Techniques (TRT) (for children 8+) shows promise, but emphasizes that most trauma apps for young people are still in early stages and are best delivered alongside therapist or caregiver support.​

For kids under 12 in CPS or with significant trauma, the most trauma‑informed approach is usually:

  • Use therapy‑aligned tools (Triangle of Life, breathing/emotions apps) with a caregiver or clinician.

  • Use PFA Mobile and NCTSN resources to guide how adults respond to and talk with children after trauma.​

For children under 12, there are only a few apps that are explicitly trauma‑focused; most options are emotion‑regulation and anxiety apps that use trauma‑informed ideas (naming feelings, calming the body, building safety) rather than talking about “PTSD” directly. Research reviews also stress that very few kids’ apps have strong clinical trials, so these should complement, not replace, real‑world support.​

Trauma‑ and stress‑informed apps usable with younger children

There are very few apps made only for children in CPS, but there are several good, free tools designed for foster youth, out‑of‑home youth, or traumatized kids that fit this group well.

Apps and tools designed around foster / out‑of‑home youth

  • FOCUS on Foster Families (UCLA)
    A skills app (Apple only) that helps foster youth and their caregivers identify and track emotions, practice problem‑solving, and improve family interaction; it is an adaptation of an evidence‑based trauma and resilience program used in military and foster families.​

    • Ages: roughly 6–12 and 13+ (youth and their caregivers).

    • Listed as “focus on foster youth and families” in county mental‑health app guides.​

  • FostrSpace (JJBH Research)
    A mobile web app for youth in foster care or out‑of‑home placements that offers psycho‑educational materials, access to a “personal care navigator,” peer support, and licensed clinicians in a safe online space.​

  • App under development for youth in out‑of‑home care
    A 2024 study describes a mobile app built with and for youth in out‑of‑home care (shelters, foster placements) to support independent living, emotional regulation, and daily‑life management, using an evidence‑based intervention‑mapping approach.​

    • This app is not yet a widely distributed product, but the research underscores that trauma‑informed apps tailored to foster youth are being actively developed.​

  • Foster Friendly App (for foster/kinship families)
    While not a trauma self‑help app for kids directly, the Foster Friendly App connects foster and kinship families to local discounts, foster closets, nonprofits, and community supports, improving stability and material support around the child.​

General youth mental‑health apps recommended for foster/CPS youth

  • ChildHelp’s Teen Mental Health Apps list
    ChildHelp’s National Child Abuse Hotline curates free apps for youth (including foster youth) such as MindShift CBT, HappiMe, and Woebot, which help with anxiety, coping skills, self‑talk, and mood tracking.​

  • “5 Therapy Apps that Could Change the Mental Health Game for Foster Youth” (The Imprint)
    Profiles several mainstream therapy/chat apps and tools that foster youth can use to work through trauma and strengthen relationships (e.g., text‑based therapy platforms and CBT‑style apps), highlighting how they may fit the foster‑care context.​

  • Free apps for kids, parents, and youth (Safe & Sound)
    A 2025 overview highlights free apps for 13–25‑year‑olds, including Soluna (California‑only 1:1 coaching app) that offers confidential mental‑health chat support and coping tools for teens and young adults, many of whom have trauma histories.​

Because the evidence base for child and teen mental‑health apps is still limited, reviews note that few have strong clinical trial data and that they should be used as supplements to real‑world therapy and supportive relationships, especially for children in CPS or foster care

PTSD Coach app: randomized trials

  • A randomized controlled trial of the PTSD Coach smartphone app (self‑management only, vs. waitlist) found that users had significantly greater improvements in PTSD and depression symptoms and psychosocial functioning than the control group, and a higher proportion achieved clinically significant PTSD symptom improvement.​

  • A later trial of the Swedish version of PTSD Coach showed that 3 months of access to the app reduced PTSD and depressive symptoms compared with a waitlist group, with more users moving below the threshold for probable PTSD; users rated the app as slightly to moderately helpful and satisfactory.​

  • A VA‑run pilot RCT with community trauma survivors concluded that PTSD Coach was feasible and acceptable, with many participants finding the “Manage Symptoms” tools most useful, though sample size limited firm conclusions about efficacy.​

PTSD Coach + clinician support

  • A 2023 randomized clinical trial tested “clinician‑supported PTSD Coach,” combining the app with four brief psychotherapy sessions. The study reported that the app plus minimal clinician support produced meaningful PTSD symptom reductions, and highlighted the model as a scalable way to extend care.​

Systematic reviews of PTSD and trauma apps

  • A systematic review of PTSD apps in commercial app stores found that while high‑quality apps based on CBT and other established PTSD treatments exist, only one app (PTSD Coach) had been rigorously evaluated in an RCT at the time; many other apps lacked evidence and had weak privacy protections.​

  • An informatics analysis of trauma‑related apps (“Dr. Smartphone, can you support my trauma?”) concluded that trauma apps vary widely in clinical foundation, privacy, and usability; it emphasized that only a small subset have a clear therapeutic basis aligned with clinical literature and are appropriate to integrate with professional care.​

  • A 2024 meta‑analysis of digital mental‑health interventions for PTSD found small but clinically meaningful symptom reductions, particularly when CBT‑based techniques were used; results for purely self‑managed apps were more modest and variable.​

Overall takeaways

  • PTSD Coach and a few similar tools have randomized‑trial evidence showing modest improvements in PTSD and depression symptoms and good user acceptability.​

  • Most PTSD/trauma apps on app stores do not yet have strong evidence, and quality and privacy protections are uneven, so users and clinicians need to choose carefully.​

  • Researchers and VA reviews emphasize that these apps are best viewed as adjuncts to evidence‑based therapy (CBT, CPT, PE, EMDR), not stand‑alone replacements—especially for people with severe or complex PTSD.​

For teenage trauma survivors, the best apps combine solid clinical backing with youth‑friendly design. Here are strong, free options to recommend.

Trauma‑specific, evidence‑based apps

A full list of VA trauma apps (including therapy companions like CPT Coach and PE Coach) is here:
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/appvid/mobile/​

General mental‑health apps often helpful for traumatized teens

These are not PTSD‑only, but widely used for anxiety, mood swings, and sleep problems that often follow trauma. (Names come from APA/trauma‑psych reviews, which emphasize evidence‑based content and privacy.)​

  • Calm Harm – uses DBT‑style skills to ride out urges to self‑harm; designed for young people.

  • MindShift CBT – CBT tools for anxiety, panic, and worry; journaling and coping strategies.

  • MoodMission – Suggests small “missions” for low mood or anxiety, teaching practical coping actions.

You can find current, vetted versions via:

How to introduce these to teens

  • Emphasize that apps are tools, not replacements for therapy; best used alongside a trusted adult, counselor, or therapist.​

  • Start with PTSD Coach for trauma education and grounding tools, then add MindShift/Calm Harm for day‑to‑day anxiety or self‑harm urges.​

  • Pair app use with crisis resources: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and Crisis Text Line (text 741741) for moments when coping tools aren’t enough.

Several high‑quality PTSD and trauma apps are completely free and work on both iOS and Android. These are among the most trusted because they’re built by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Department of Defense, or vetted by APA and other professional groups.​

Core PTSD and trauma apps

Treatment‑companion apps (for people in therapy)

These are free but designed to be used with a therapist:

  • CPT Coach (Cognitive Processing Therapy companion)

    • Helps people doing CPT keep worksheets, track symptoms, and complete between‑session assignments.​

  • PE Coach (Prolonged Exposure companion)

    • Helps schedule and track exposure exercises, record sessions, complete symptom scales, and practice skills.​

An overview of all VA trauma‑related apps is here:
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/appvid/mobile/​

How to find and vet more apps

 

 

 

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