The CHA Pastoral Care Advisory Committee is pleased to offer the following list of apps to assist in the pastoral and spiritual care of patients, their families and health ministry associates.

Unless a price is noted, at the time of compilation, all apps listed below are free for download on both the Apple App Store and on Google Play. Do be advised that some of the apps offer additional in-app purchases.

PATIENT HEALING AND HOPE

• Stay Alive: Grassroots Suicide Prevention
  This app is a pocket suicide prevention resource, packed full of useful information to help you stay safe. You can use it if you are having thoughts of suicide or if you are concerned about someone else who may be considering suicide.
• Virtual Hope Box
  The Virtual Hope Box (VHB) is a smartphone application designed for use by patients and their behavioral health providers as an accessory to treatment. The VHB contains simple tools to help patients with coping, relaxation, distraction and positive thinking.

PAIN AND SYMPTOM RESPONSE

• Breathe2Relax
  A simple, intuitive and attractive mobile app designed by the National Center for Telehealth & Technology to teach breathing techniques to manage stress. The skills taught may be applied to those with anxiety disorders, stress and PTSD.
• CatchMyPain
  One of the most well-known pain apps not only for its helpful features but also for the way in which it builds community. CatchMyPain has a forum feature that connects chronic pain patients to each other.
• My Pain Diary
  Tracks patient data and uses it to make potential connections between certain reported events (even weather) and pain flare-ups. This pain app uses color coding to make it easy to read.
• Pain Companion
  Visual and innovate pain tracker developed by chronic pain patients for chronic patients. Together we are stronger than pain.
• PTSD Coach
  Provides excellent tools to manage the stresses of daily life and find support to manage them. Created by the VA's National Center for PTSD and the Department of Defense National center for Telehealth & Technology.
• WebMD Mobile Pain Coach
  WebMD Mobile Pain Coach offers users the option of locating their pain on their body, keeping a diary of symptoms and triggers and printing customized reports for the doctors.

WELL BEING AND RESILIENCE

• Anxiety Coach
  A self-help app that addresses fears and worries using cognitive behavior therapy strategies. The app walks you through making a list of feared activities and helps you master them, leading to less fear and worry. The app includes tools for a severity self-test, making a plan, anxiety tracking and viewing your progress.
• Gratitude 365 ($1.99)
  Daily gratitude journal which tracks your entries by day year over year.
• C.A.R.E. at Home (comes with 1 free sampler; additional downloads are $2.99)
  Manage your stress or relax wherever you are with this therapeutic app on your smart phone or tablet. Choose from three categories: C.A.R.E. Channel, Guided Imagery or Nighttime programming.
• Moodnotes ($3.99)
  Capture your mood and improve your thinking habits through an innovative approach to journaling! Moodnotes empowers you to track your mood over time, avoid common thinking traps and develop perspectives associated with increased happiness and well-being.
• Relax & Sleep Well
  A high quality hypnosis and meditation app by best-selling self-help audio author Glenn Harrold. This fantastic app consists of 4 free hypnotherapy and meditation recordings and over 80 in-app purchase options covering insomnia, stress, anxiety, mindfulness, sleep, weight-loss, confidence, self-esteem, the solfeggio frequencies, binaural beats, spiritual healing and much more.
• Self-help for Anxiety Management
  A friendly app that offers a range of self-help methods for people who are serious about learning to manage their anxiety.
• Thought Challenger
  Control and challenge thoughts that have a mind of their own. See how your thoughts stand up in the face of questioning. Change your perspective to a more balanced outlook on life.

BEREAVEMENT

• Coping with Grief and Loss Guide: Grieving Tips ($2.99)
  Expert advice, daily tips and step by step coaching for inspiration and encouragement.
• Grief & Loss Quotes ($.99)
  A collection of comforting quotes for moments of loss when it is hard to find the right words.
• Grief Support Network
  A free proximity-based social network connecting and supporting people grieving or who have grieved with the objective of creating a global community of Grief Angels that can be there for each other during one of life's most difficult time.
• TalkLife
  TalkLife is a peer-support community that values research, evidence and impact to make sure you get the best help possible. We are clinically governed and take safeguarding very seriously.

RELIGIOUS RESOURCES AND SACRED TEXTS

• Bible Gateway
  Read and search scripture in over 90 different Bible translations, listen to more than 20 audio bibles and read several different commentaries. The app allows you to take personal notes as well as share verses on social media.
• iBreviary
  iBreviary is the Catholic application that brings you the traditional prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours and all the texts of the Eucharistic Liturgy. 
• Laudate
  Comprehensive app for Catholic prayers, daily readings and church documents in multiple languages and translations.

PRAYER

• 3-MinuteRetreat
  Three minutes of peace at your fingertips. A brief inspirational moment every day, combines reflective music, a brief scripture verse and commentary, followed by two questions for reflection and a gentle closing prayer. Each reflective moment includes stunning nature scenes as you pause each day. Hosted by Loyola Press.
• Pray as You Go
  Offers a daily prayer session designed to go with you on your day. Lasting between ten and thirteen minutes, each session combines music, scripture and some questions for reflection. 
• Reimagining the Examen
  Reimagining the Examen is a fresh and customized prayer experience inspired by St. Ignatius's Examen, a practice that helps you review your day with God. With modern Examens tailored to your mood, needs and situation, our app invites you pray from where you are, wherever you are.
• Sacred Space Daily Prayer
  Offered through a collaboration of the Irish Jesuits and Loyola Press, Sacred Space walks you through a process of prayer around the Scriptures for the day.
• The Daily Disconnect
  A brief daily prayer experience of simple faith in the Carmelite tradition. The Daily Disconnect is a daily podcast focusing on the exercise of prayer from a Catholic Carmelite perspective.

MEDITATION

• Calm
  Used for mindfulness and meditation to bring more clarity, joy and peace to your daily life. Calm is the perfect meditation app for beginners, but also includes hundreds of programs for intermediate and advanced users. Guided meditation sessions are available in lengths of 3, 5, 10, 15, 20 or 25 minutes so you can choose the perfect length to fit with your schedule. 
• Headspace
  Headspace helps you cultivate the life-changing skills of meditation and mindfulness.
• Insight Timer
  Guided meditations and talks led by the world's top mindfulness experts, neuroscientists, psychologists and meditation teachers from Stanford, Harvard, Dartmouth and the University of Oxford. Music tracks from world-renowned artists.
• Simply Being
  Choose from 5 meditation times with the option to listen to the guided meditation alone or with music or nature sounds. You can also listen to the music or nature sounds alone. In addition, you can choose how long to listen to the music or nature sounds after the voice guidance finishes.
• Sounds True
  Audio programming, videos, courses and music for personal transformation and spiritual awakening.

HEALTH CARE NAVIGATION

• Medical Terminology and Abbreviations
  With over 1000 terms and abbreviations available, this app makes it easy to quickly learn and understand complex medical terminology. Hundreds of prefixes and suffixes help you understand more complex medical terms.
• Simply Sayin'
  The medical jargon health care professionals use can be overwhelming to children, because they process information differently than adults. The Simply Sayin'™ app from Phoenix Children's Hospital uses pictures, sounds and child friendly glossary of terms to facilitate clear conversations between the healthcare provider, child and family. 

COMMUNITY & CAREGIVERS

• CaringBridge
  CaringBridge connects you with the support of friends and family when it's needed most. CaringBridge makes it simple: create a website, visit a friend's page, add updates or encouraging notes and share your story.
• LotsaHelpingHands
  One place to coordinate help, communicate updates & receive emotional support. Schedule meal deliveries, rides to appointments and visiting hours by posting tasks others can help with. Notify all concerned family members, friends and community members about the status of your loved one with a single message. Connect with your support network with posts like photos and well wishes.
• CareZone
  Keep all of your loved one's pertinent information on the secured app and invite family and friends to view and participate in his or her care. It has a place for notes and observations, a task list, medication logging (including pharmacy numbers, dosing, prescribing physicians, etc.), a place to upload photos -- and you can even send a voice message to up to 100 recipients.
• Medisafe
  Keep yourself and loved ones safe and never forget to take your meds again with Medisafe the easy-to-use and FREE app ranked #1 by pharmacists to help you remember when to take your pills. Included information on medication and conditions.