What Is a Therapy Companion App?

A therapy companion app is a digital tool that supports your mental health journey between therapy sessions. It's not a replacement for your therapist — it's a supplement that helps you get more value from the therapy you're already doing.

Think of it this way: your therapist provides the guidance, but a companion app helps you do the work between appointments. It's the difference between having a personal trainer and having a fitness app that tracks your workouts between training sessions.

What Therapy Companion Apps Do

While features vary, most therapy companion apps offer some combination of:

Session Recording and Transcription

The ability to record your therapy sessions (with your therapist's permission) and get automatic transcriptions. This solves the common problem of forgetting what you talked about in therapy.

Smart Insights

Advanced companion apps analyze your sessions and extract key information: emotional themes, recurring patterns, goals discussed, and action items assigned. This gives you a structured summary to work with between sessions.

Goal and Homework Tracking

Keeping track of therapy homework and goals so nothing falls through the cracks. Some apps can even extract goals directly from session transcriptions.

Mood and Emotion Tracking

Logging how you feel over time reveals patterns that are hard to see in the moment. Many apps provide visualizations that make emotional trends clear.

Reflection Prompts

Guided questions that help you engage in therapy reflection without staring at a blank page.

Progress Analytics

Visual representations of your therapy journey: how your moods have changed, what themes keep coming up, which goals you've completed, and how consistent you've been with between-session work.

How Companion Apps Differ from Other Mental Health Apps

The mental health app landscape can be confusing. Here's how therapy companion apps fit in:

Meditation apps (Calm, Headspace) focus on mindfulness practice. They're useful but don't connect to your therapy.
Chatbot therapy apps (Woebot, Wysa) provide automated therapeutic conversations. They can help in a pinch but aren't personalized to your specific therapy work.
Mood tracking apps (Daylio, Moodfit) track how you feel but don't connect to session content.
Therapy companion apps (Therapy Mallard) are specifically designed to enhance your existing therapy by recording sessions, extracting insights, and supporting between-session engagement.

Who Benefits from a Therapy Companion App?

Therapy companion apps are particularly helpful for people who:

Frequently forget what was discussed in sessions
Struggle to complete therapy homework consistently
Want to track their progress but don't know where to start
Feel like therapy isn't working and want to be more engaged
Have sessions less frequently (biweekly or monthly) and need more support between appointments

What to Look for in a Therapy Companion App

When choosing a companion app, consider:

Privacy and security. Your therapy data is deeply personal. Look for encryption, clear privacy policies, and no data selling.
Ease of use. If the app is complicated, you won't use it. Simple, intuitive interfaces win.
Analysis quality. Not all analysis is equal. Look for apps that provide accurate, nuanced summaries — not generic platitudes.
Integration with your workflow. The app should fit into your life, not add another chore.
Your therapist's comfort. Discuss any app you want to use with your therapist, especially if it involves session recording.

Getting Started with Therapy Mallard

Therapy Mallard is a therapy companion app built specifically for this purpose. It offers:

One-tap session recording with automatic transcription
Automatic extraction of themes, emotions, and action items
Goal tracking with progress visualization
Encrypted, private data storage
A free tier to get started

Whether you're just starting therapy or have been going for years, a companion app can help you get more out of every session.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a therapy companion app?

A therapy companion app is a digital tool designed to support your mental health journey between therapy sessions. Unlike therapy replacement apps (like chatbot therapists), companion apps work alongside your existing therapist. They typically offer features like session recording, mood tracking, goal management, reflection prompts, and progress analytics.

Is a therapy companion app a replacement for therapy?

No. Therapy companion apps are designed to complement — not replace — professional therapy. They enhance the work you do with your therapist by helping you retain session content, stay accountable to goals, and maintain progress between appointments. Think of it as the difference between a tutor and a study app: you need both.

Are therapy companion apps safe and private?

Reputable therapy companion apps take privacy very seriously, as they handle sensitive mental health data. Look for apps that use encryption, don't sell your data, and clearly explain their privacy policies. Therapy Mallard, for example, encrypts all session recordings and transcriptions and never shares your data with third parties.

What features should I look for in a therapy companion app?

Key features to look for include: session recording and transcription, smart insight extraction, goal tracking, mood/emotion tracking, reflection prompts, progress analytics, and strong privacy protections. The best apps make it easy to engage with your therapy work without adding complexity to your life.

How is Therapy Mallard different from other mental health apps?

Therapy Mallard is specifically designed as a therapy companion — not a therapy replacement. It records and transcribes your actual therapy sessions, automatically extracts themes, emotions, and action items, tracks your goals, and helps you reflect between sessions. Most mental health apps focus on meditation, mood tracking, or chatbot therapy. Therapy Mallard focuses on making your existing therapy more effective.