A county has published a list of free apps that it said could save young people from deteriorating mental health.

NHS Dorset said the library, curated by an app review firm, could prevent people from needing other treatments.

However, it said the apps were not an alternative to conventional therapy.

Mental health charity Sane said digital therapies were useful for some people, but cautioned they could be counter-productive.

The Dorset library includes apps such as Move Mood, to help with depression, and Calm Harm, which aims to prevent self-harming.

Project manager Christian Telfer, from NHS Dorset, said: “These apps are what we consider to be the best out there and relegate the ones with less evidence.

“They are intended for people either to stop needing help or to complement healthcare treatment.”

Michael Pagan, from Public Health Dorset, said the apps gave young people “safe, high-quality, and diverse solutions to support their self-care and wellbeing”.

The list was compiled by Orcha (Organisation for the Review of Care and Health Apps), a firm which checks apps for issues including poor information, lack of security updates and awareness of regulatory requirements.

In March, NHS advisory body NICE said eight online therapies had the “potential to provide effective treatment”, although more evidence was needed.

NHS Dorset said some of those were not free, although one option – Silvercloud – was offered in Dorset to some patients.

Marjorie Wallace, Sane’s chief executive, said: “Digital technology may be useful for some who seek explanation for their feelings, anxieties and distress.

“However, there are dangers that people diagnose themselves and then accept treatments that may not be helpful without contact with someone they can trust.

“Our experience with those who contact us is that self-diagnosis and self-management techniques do not always reach the layers of their inner mental pain and can leave them feeling even more unsafe and alone.”

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