Helpful Tools For Therapists And Mental Health Professionals

According to a 2022 survey, more than 45% of psychologists generally reported feeling burned out due to an increased workload, likely resulting from the pandemic. Preventing burnout is often multifaceted and may require significant changes on an institutional or organizational level. However, anything therapists can do to save time and make their work life a little easier may be beneficial. Resources like Positive Psychology and PACEs Connection can be useful, and apps such as Card Decks and MoodKit may be excellent recommendations for clients. If you’ve encountered stress or burnout due to your career and are having trouble overcoming it on your own, consider scheduling a session with a licensed mental health professional online.

What kind of therapy resources are available?

If you’re looking to streamline the business side of things, there may be plenty of software available that can help with everything from billing to organizing client information and accepting payment. Many resources are also available to support you in your sessions, including worksheets, videos, and assessment tools. 

Below, discover places where you can find these kinds of psychology tools.

Therapist Aid

Therapist Aid has a wide range of therapy tools available that were created for therapists by therapists. The website is easy to use, with plenty of filters and menus to help you find exactly what you’re looking for. Search for worksheets, interactive stories and games, videos, and articles, and filter the results by demographic (children, adolescents, or adults) and topics, including anxiety, CBT, motivational interviewing, relaxation, and more.

Some of the content is free, but you might consider becoming a member to get the most out of the site. The professional plan can be affordable, and you can pay annually or monthly. You can access standard worksheets with the basic plan, but upgrading to the professional plan generally allows you to customize worksheets, browse ad-free, and create free tools to share resources with your fellow therapists. 

Professional access also gives you unlimited access to the interactive tools on the site, including educational storybooks, games, activities, and guided audio for grounding exercises, mindfulness techniques, and more. All these resources are typically telehealth-friendly, so you can easily share them with your clients during remote therapy sessions. 

Positive Psychology

Another site with great resources may be Positive Psychology. Its mission is generally to “provide a science-based, trusted learning environment for helping professionals.” A range of classes and professional development options are available, including various toolkits, masterclasses, and guides. 

Positive Psychology also offers 18 collections of various exercises that professionals can use to grow and evolve in their practice. Each collection provides 17 exercises on a different topic, including leadership, stress and burnout prevention, grief and bereavement, and resilience and coping. 

There is also an extensive blog that covers a variety of topics, including examples and advice for how to approach various topics in therapy. For example, some articles include how to treat complicated grief, while others provide worksheets and writing prompts to help clients through their recovery.

PACEs Connection

PACEs Connection describes itself as a social media network for professionals specializing in trauma-informed care, but it can offer much more than that. PACEs stands for “positive and adverse childhood experiences,” and the community is primarily meant for those who specialize or are interested in trauma-informed care. 

While the social networking and community resources may be impressive, PACEs Connection also offers many other resources to those in this field. On the site, you’ll find an extensive blog with posts about workshops, research, and more, as well as links to various podcasts and a YouTube channel with videos of webinars. 

There’s also an extensive resource center. You’ll find science-backed information about the epidemiology of adverse childhood experiences, the neurobiology and health consequences of the resulting toxic stress, how toxic stress can be passed through generations, and the benefits of positive childhood experiences. 

You’ll also find related books, handouts, webinars, and other collections of resources to use in your practice. Plus, there are resources for parents who have experienced adverse childhood experiences and children and families who have experienced war and violence.

Psychology Tools

Psychology Tools is a website that promises to deliver “everything you need to deliver more effective therapy.” The website is easy to navigate, so you can quickly find what you need. You can filter searches by resource type, topic, and the type of therapy tool you’re looking for. 

Another helpful resource offered here is Treatments That Work, a series of workbooks written by leading psychologists based on the principles of CBT. Each comes with two books, a therapist guide and a workbook, which contain step-by-step procedures for using evidence-based psychological interventions on the topic at hand, with worksheets and clinical illustrations that can help you advance your practice. 

According to Psychology Tools, you can use the material in the Treatments That Work programs to plan treatment, as self-help interventions for clients in sessions, as supplements to sessions where the client works through the material independently, or as an ongoing intervention after treatment.

In addition, the site offers various series that address aspects of different mental health conditions. For example, the “What Is…” series contains one-page resources written in client-friendly language that provide precise summaries of multiple diagnoses, and the “What Keeps It Going…” series involves one-page diagrams that explain what tends to maintain common mental health conditions, like PTSD and burnout. There are seven series in all, including the “Guide to…” series and “Self-monitoring” collection.

You can start with a trial membership and download five resources to get an idea of what the site has to offer. Membership tiers range from basic to complete, with complete giving you access and licenses for everything on the platform.

Apps for therapists to use with clients

Digital tools can give you practical and convenient ways to interact with clients and guide your sessions. Here are a few that you may find helpful.

Card Decks

Card Decks is an app from the Gottman Institute that lets users download more than 1,000 flashcards to help foster communication in couples therapy. Use it in sessions or encourage clients to download it to use on their own between sessions. 

Insight Timer

Insight Timer can help people build routines and better habits. It may be a good choice if you’re looking for a way to develop better habits for yourself or something to recommend to clients for accountability. Insight Timer is essentially five apps in one. It has an extensive library of free guided meditations, mood check-in capabilities, journaling, yoga, and breathwork. 

Daylio

Daylio is a simple journaling app that you can encourage clients to use to track their moods and goals. Making an entry can be as simple as choosing an emoji that best suits their moods and then choosing their daily activities. The app will generally detect patterns in mood changes, which can help clients become more aware of the activities contributing to their well-being. Users can utilize the graphs generated in-app to facilitate discussion about mood shifts and what may be contributing to them in their sessions. 

MoodKit

MoodKit was developed by two clinical psychologists and is largely rooted in the methods and ideologies of CBT. The app lets users track moods and negative thoughts and has an in-app journal. The app gives users specific steps to follow to enhance their well-being. By using this app, clients can become more aware of their symptoms and emotions between sessions, which can facilitate discussions and inform treatment plans.

Benefits of online therapy

Being a mental health professional doesn’t necessarily mean you’re immune to your own mental health challenges. Whether you’ve encountered stress, experienced burnout, or are going through a tough time in your personal life, online therapy can offer an accessible way to book sessions around your work schedule and attend them from wherever is convenient.

Effectiveness of online therapy

Studies show that online treatment is generally just as effective as in-person therapy, with both modes of therapy typically producing the same client outcomes.  

Takeaway

There are often a variety of tools available for clinicians, whether you’re looking for customizable worksheets to give your clients or a smartphone app for them to use between sessions. Therapy tools from sources like Therapist Aid and Psychology Tools, as well as apps like Daylio and Insight Timer, can help mental health professionals streamline their practices, share and learn from their colleagues, and find new ways to connect with clients. If you’re struggling with your own mental health, consider connecting with another licensed therapist through an online therapy platform.