Headspace

Price
Free for first 10 sessions only

Targeted to anyone who wants to learn meditation to reduce anxiety and stress and improve their attention and awareness; good for a beginner to establish a regular meditative routine. The skills taught include mindfulness and cognitive diffusion, breathing exercises, meditation practice, tips for increased relaxation, concentration; may be applied to anxiety and depressive disorders, PTSD, and OCD, especially in conjunction with a health provider.

This app does a terrific job of describing basic concepts with a creative animated interface, presenting meditation in a user-friendly way with clear instructions; creating an online forum; supplying podcasts; normalizing mind-wandering; and illustrating main points with videos.

This app is not intended as a treatment substitute for those with serious anxiety and related disorders or depression.

Rating

Ease of Use = 4.75
Effectiveness = 4 (Education, Self-Monitoring, Treatment)
Personalization = 2.5
Interactive/Feedback = 2.25
Research Evidence = 3

Audience
Teens, adults, men, women, veterans