Mental Health Resources

These are Mental Health resources for therapists and for people suffering from mental health issues.  These mental health resources include phone numbers, online programs and apps, worksheets, self-care resources, videos, blogs of people who suffer from mental illness, and other valuable mental health resources.

My goal in creating this page was not to create an exhaustive list, but rather to present the very best mental health resources currently available.  I will be updating this page as time goes on and I would appreciate your help in making it even better.  Please feel free to suggest the sites that you find most helpful in the comments section below.

(Tip: Press Ctrl-D to bookmark this page for future reference.)

Helpful phone numbers

Are you in crisis right now?  If you or someone you know is in crisis and needs immediate assistance, go to the nearest hospital or, in North America, call emergency: 911 (that is the number for emergency in North America — it may be different in your location in the world).

Crisis lines worldwide – This site lists crisis lines in a number of locations across the globe

Wikipedia list of crisis lines worldwide – Wikipedia does not seem to be as thorough as the above link, but I am including it in case they happen to have a country that is not included above.

Canada Kid’s Help Phone for Children and Teens who need help: 1-800-668-6868 – Canadian resource for children and teens.

USA National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-8255 – This number works across the USA.  They also have a number for those who are deaf (1-800-799-4889) and one for those who speak Spanish (1-800-628-9454).

UK mental health helplines – These are mental health phone numbers for the United Kingdom (Great Britain).

Dial 211 – Did you know that in many communities in North America (the USA and Canada), you can simply dial 211 on your phone and you will be connected with a real person who can help you to find local community resources to help you (as well as volunteer opportunities)?  There is an associated website in the USA and in Canada.  Note that this service does not yet exist everywhere in North America, but it may well be in your community!

Apps and online programs to help

Mood Gym – An on-line program that helps you learn cognitive behavioural therapy skills to cope with depression.  Geared at a younger audience.  See a review.

Living Life to the Full – Another well-reviewed on-line CBT program.

Online Therapy – Another online CBT program.  (I am listing several because, as a client or therapist, you may prefer one to the others.)

Pacifica – The Pacifica app offers quick daily activities based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. From thought journaling to behavioral experiments, Pacifica can help.

Worksheets

Therapist Aid  – worksheets, videos, guides, and other tools to aid mental health professionals in the course of their work.

Psychology Tools – Free mental health worksheets and therapy resources.

Hypnosis Tools – Tools, scripts, etc for hypnotherapy.

Self Care Resources for Mental Health Professionals

It is really important for mental health professionals to engage in self care activities to help keep stress at bay when helping others!

Self Care Starter Kit  – The University of Buffalo School of Social Work developed a full package to assist mental health professionals with assessing their current level of self care and developing a self-care plan.

Burnout self test – Has burnout crept up on you?  Find out with this self test.

Videos

Black Dog – Animated video about depression made by the World Health Organization (4 minutes approx.)

Living with a black dog  – A sort of sequel to the above video for people who live with those who suffer from depression (5 minutes approx.)

Suicide prevention by the World Health Organization (5 mins approx.).  The WHO also has a 30 minute video presentation on suicide prevention here.

Information

Depression – information about depression from the National Institute of Mental Health in the USA.

Bipolar Disorder – information about bipolar disorder (previously known as manic depression) from Healthline.com.

General Mental Health Info – Mental Health Help provides comprehensive mental health and mental illness information on topics like depression, bipolar, suicide, anxiety, addiction, schizophrenia, etc.

People

These are blogs of real people who suffer from mental illness.  It is hard to live with illness, but sometimes it is easier if you know you don’t walk this path alone:

Danielle – World Traveler with Depression at Like Riding a Bicycle (ironic true fact: Danielle does not, in fact, enjoy riding bicycles.)  Danielle has many fascinating stories about her travels and also discusses her struggle with depression.  Her writing is very raw and honest.

Natalie – The Bipolar Diaries – a blog about the “digressive journey of a 20 something girl, living with mental illness”.

Confessions of a Caregiver –  about the ongoing struggles of maintaining adequate self-care whilst being a caregiver for her combat veteran husband and son with Asperger’s syndrom.

Publications

World Health Organization Psychological Help in Emergencies – There are several interesting publications about mental health and providing psychosocial support here including one on psychological first aid.  They also have a publication on group interpersonal therapy for depression and they have a suicide prevention series.  Their publications are interesting and free to download.

Other Resource Lists

While I was doing research for this page, I found other sites that also had mental health resources.  Some of them were really hard to find or had me literally drowning in resources, but the idea of this page was to list what I felt were the key resources as opposed to re-inventing the wheel.  For that reason I am including some sites that have excellent albeit potentially lengthy lists of mental health resources.  Enjoy!

Psych Central – Mental Health & Psychology Resources Online – This is an excellent list.  There are literally hundreds of resources here.

World Federation for Mental Health – List of Mental Health Organizations – This lists mainly mental health and mental health advocacy organizations as opposed to mental health resources per se.

Books:

You may also be interested in:

• Free CBT Worksheets for Clients and Therapists
• Books on CBT, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
• List of CBT Techniques