Self-Help Resources

Featured

Learn to Live

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy modules for depression, anxiety, social anxiety, insomnia, and substance use.  Free to all UMN students, faculty, and staff using code "UMN."

Sanvello

A feel-better toolkit including coping techniques, meditations, coaching, and therapy.  Limited free content.  Premium version is free to benefitted UMN employees using Medica ID.

Free Apps

Mindshift CBT

Free evidence-based anxiety relief using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) from Anxiety Canada.  

ACT Coach

Free app from the Department of Veterans Affairs using tools from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help you "live with unpleasant thoughts, feelings, and impulses without avoiding them or being controlled by them."   

PTSD Coach

Self-help strategies for those struggling with trauma from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Binaural Beats

Set an auditory bilateral beat to the background to enhance your alpha, theta, or delta waves.  Learn more about Binaural Beats.

Subscription-based apps with limited free content:  

Headspace

Mindfulness app with guided meditations, sleep stories, and breathwork with limited free content and a special student rate of $9.99/year.

Calm

Sleep, relaxation, and meditation support app with limited free content.  

The Tapping Solution

Tap on acupressure meridians to reduce stress levels.  Several tapping meditations are available in the free version.  

Developing Coping Skills

Gentle calm breathing from Resources for Resilience

Gentle Tapping Technique to release stress through gentle tapping on acupressure meridians

Stress Blow Out by Resources for Resilience

Progressive Muscle Relaxation with Therapy in a Nutshell

Dealing with Difficult Emotions

YouTube Playlists by Therapy in a Nutshell

• Anxiety Skills 
• Depression Skills 
• How to Process Your Emotions - Learn to Control Your Feelings 

Test Anxiety

Tap along with and repeat aloud after Brad Yates to apply Emotional Freedom Techniques to reduce test anxiety

Improving Sleep

YouTube Playlist by Therapy in a Nutshell

• How to Sleep Better 

Understanding and Releasing Trauma

YouTube Playlists by Therapy in a Nutshell

• Trauma and PTSD Recovery

Cultivating Self Worth and Self-Compassion

Dr. Meag-gan Ann O'Reilley compares frameworks of conditional acceptance with inherent worth

Dr. Kristin Neff shares The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self-Compassion in her TEDx Talk. 

Dr. Brené Brown shares about cultivating connection in her Power of Vulnerability TEDx Talk.

See how Dr. Brené Brown dealt with her own shame after her previous TEDx Talk went viral in Listening to Shame. 

Wellness in the Woods

Wellness in the Woods

National Alliance on Mental Illness

NAMI Minnesota (National Alliance on Mental Illness) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with mental illnesses and their families. NAMI Minnesota offers education, support, and advocacy. NAMI Minnesota has started web-based support groups for people living with mental illness. On the landing page click JOIN button and fill out the necessary information. Once you have created an online account, you can register for support groups by logging into your account and clicking on the “Meeting Calendar” tab. Find a support group you would like to attend and click on the REGISTER button. Participants will need a device like a computer with a microphone and optional webcam, a tablet, or a smartphone.

• Young Adult WebConnect for ages 18-30 (2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month 7:00pm-8:30pm)
• WebConnect Support Groups for adults (Wednesdays 8:30-10:00pm)