Our team of reviewers tested dozens of mental health apps to find the best options for your needs. Our top ten picks are affordable (or free) and offer features such as mood and symptom tracking, mindfulness, meditation, and even therapy. These tools make it easier to care for your overall mental wellness and achieve your goals, whatever they may be.
Our Top Picks
- Best Overall - Calm | Read review
- Best Habit Tracker - Finch | Read review
- Best Mood & Symptom Tracker - Bearable | Read review
- Best CBT App - Youper | Read review
- Best for a Mood Boost - Happify | Read review
- Best with AI - Wysa | Read review
- Best for Mindfulness - Headspace | Read review
- Best for Meditation - Insight Timer | Read review
- Best for Kids - Breathe, Think, Do by Sesame Street | Read review
- Best Free App - What’s Up? Mental Health App | Read review
Top Apps at a Glance
Why Trust Us
300+
Companies Reviewed2,350+
Hours of Testing1,150+
Data Points AnalyzedThe reviews on ChoosingTherapy.com are fair, honest, thorough, and based on firsthand experience. To date, we’ve reviewed mental health solutions offered by more than 300 companies. That has involved more than 2,350 hours of firsthand use and consideration of over 1,150 data points. Our editorial policies outline a rigorous review process, but they all boil down to this: produce reviews that our own friends and family can rely on. Learn more here.
Detailed Reviews
Here are more detailed reviews of our favorite mental health apps.
Price: Free – $14.99 monthly
Platform: iOS, Android, Web
Features: Stress management, sleep, focus, and more.
Calm is an all-in-one mental health app for managing stress, improving focus, getting better sleep, and living mindfully. It’s one of the most feature-rich and comprehensive options, making it my pick for the best mental health app overall.
Pros & Cons
- All-in-one mental health app
- Offers some free features
- Many celebrity endorsements
- Free features are somewhat limited
Cost
The Calm app is free to download, with a limited set of features including some sleep stories and guided meditations. The full set of features are unlocked with Calm Premium which costs $14.99 monthly or $69.99 annually. Calm’s premium plan has a 7-day free trial.
Calm offers some discounted plans for special circumstances like students, families, or teams. You can also purchase a lifetime membership.
Costs for the Calm app include:
- Calm Premium: $14.99 monthly; $69.99 annually
- Family Plan: $99.99 annually for up to 6 users
- Student Plan: $8.99 annually; must have Amazon Prime Student membership
- Teams: 15% off for teams of 5 or more
- Lifetime Membership: $399.99 one-time payment
Get more insight into whether its right for you by visiting our full Calm app review.
Overview
Calm is a comprehensive mental wellness app offering guided meditations, breathing exercises, mood tracking, sleep stories, and soothing music. It’s designed to help users manage stress, improve sleep, and build mindfulness habits. With educational resources and advanced options, Calm is suitable for beginners and those looking to deepen their practice. It’s available on iOS and Android devices, as well as desktop computers.
We loved using Calm for its variety of features and polished design. While the free version has limited content, we believe the premium subscription offers excellent value with its extensive library of high-quality resources. That said, its reliance on celebrity voices in some features might not suit everyone’s preferences.
Calm is especially helpful for adults managing stress and building mindfulness, but it also offers content tailored to kids and teens. Its family pricing plan makes it a more accessible option for everyone in the home.
Learn more about our experience in our full Calm app review.
Price: Free – $9.99 monthly
Platform: iOS, Android
Features: Habit tracking, interactive exercises, self-care
Finch is a wellness app that uses a lovable virtual pet to help you build and maintain healthy habits. I think it’s the best app for habit tracking because it encourages positive, lasting change.
Pros & Cons
- Generous free content with no sign-up required
- Virtual pet keeps you motivated
- Can connect with friends or family for added support
- Ad-free
- Gamified approach may not appeal to everyone
Cost
The Finch app is free, ad-free, and packed with content—no email required. For even more features, you can upgrade to Finch Plus for $9.99 monthly. Finch Plus adds advanced self-care tools and extra customization options for the app and your pet. Free trials are available for Finch Plus: seven days for the annual plan and three days for the monthly plan.
Overview
Finch is a self-care and habit-tracking app where taking care of a virtual pet motivates you to take care of yourself. The app encourages you to set daily goals, focusing on small, sustainable steps toward positive change. It also includes daily reflections to help you understand your habits, emotions, and how everything connects.
Our team was impressed by Finch’s thoughtful design—it’s ad-free, packed with a ton of free content, and doesn’t even require an email to get started. It makes building achievable, lasting habits feel approachable and fun, which is why we think Finch stands out as an engaging and effective tool for forming habits that really stick.
Price: Free – $34.99 annually
Platform: iOS, Android
Features: Mood & symptom tracking, reports and visualization
Bearable helps you track moods, symptoms, and medications with precision. Detailed logging, great customization, and the ability to share insights with your mental health provider make it my top choice for mood and symptom tracking.
Pros & Cons
- Robust features in free version
- Excellent companion for therapy or psychiatry
- Extensive features can feel overwhelming
- Insight graphs require premium version
Cost
Bearable’s free version includes all the essentials for tracking your moods, symptoms, and triggers, along with weekly, monthly, and yearly reports. For more in-depth analysis and advanced features, you can upgrade to Bearable Premium for $34.99 per year. A seven-day free trial lets you explore the premium features before you commit.
Learn more about our experience in our full review of Bearable.
Overview
Bearable is a flexible app that allows you to track moods, symptoms, medications, and other health factors, giving you valuable insights into what affects your mental health. You can track as many or as few factors as you like and adjust your tracking preferences anytime. Weekly reports give you a snapshot of your mood and symptom patterns, offering valuable insights into what’s affecting you.
Our team was impressed by Bearable’s ability to cater to both beginners and those who want deeper insights. The free version offers more than enough features to track your symptoms and moods, while the premium version unlocks advanced insights like detailed graphs and statistics. We chose Bearable as the best app for mood and symptom tracking because it strikes the perfect balance between ease of use and in-depth tracking.
Visit our full Bearable review for a more complete look into our experience.
Price: $69.99 annually
Platform: iOS, Android
Features: AI-based CBT education
Youper is an innovative mental health app that uses an AI-powered chatbot to guide users through CBT exercises, helping manage challenges like anxiety, depression, and self-confidence. Our team loved Youper for its ability to tailor CBT education to individual needs, offering a personalized experience that feels similar to traditional therapy.
Pros & Cons
- AI customizes CBT to your needs
- Offers personalized mental health insights
- No free features
- Some may be wary of AI
Cost
Youper costs $69.99 annually, with a 7-day free trial allowing you to explore its features. Note that there’s no free version or content available.
Learn more about cost in our full Youper app review.
Overview
Youper is a mental health app designed to provide accessible, AI-powered CBT education. Developed with input from therapists, the app uses a chatbot to guide users through personalized mental health exercises and daily check-ins. Its AI adapts to your responses, offering tailored tools and a structured way to build emotional resilience and track progress over time.
We found Youper particularly impressive for how it customizes CBT education to fit each user’s unique circumstances. During setup, you’ll set goals and choose areas to focus on, such as mood tracking or managing anxiety. From there, the app provides quick, interactive sessions that can be seamlessly integrated into your day. The mood-tracking features are especially valuable for identifying patterns, and users can even share this data with therapists who use integrated electronic health records.
Our team loved how Youper makes CBT techniques accessible to users of all backgrounds. While it doesn’t feature audio or visual content, the chatbot’s conversational style makes it easy to engage with the material. If you’re looking for a straightforward way to learn CBT and track your mental health, Youper delivers a stand-out experience.
Visit our full Youper review for more about our team’s experience.
Price: Free – $14.99 monthly
Platform: iOS, Android, Web
Features: CBT & positive psychology for beginners
Happify is a positive psychology and CBT-based app designed to help users boost their mood through playful activities, guided reflections, and journaling. With its highly approachable format and learning tracks guided by an AI coach, it’s ideal for beginners or those seeking light, mood-lifting support.
Pros & Cons
- Good introduction to CBT techniques
- Fun and engaging way to learn new skills
- Activities can be completed in 5-10 minutes
- Limited appeal for advanced users
- Some activities feel more like games than therapy
Cost
Happify offers a free plan that offers access to 18 learning “Tracks,” in-app games, journals, a community hub, and guided meditations. You can also take the a unique character assessment to uncover your top three character strengths, making it a solid starting point for exploring the app’s content.
For the full experience, Happify Plus starts at $14.99 per month, with discounted options at $139.99 per year, $229.95 for two years, or $449.95 for lifetime access. This premium plan includes 100+ Tracks, all guided meditations, a “Happiness Index” for tracking progress, and your full VIA strengths profile. Although there’s no free trial, Happify Plus is ideal for users who want to dive deeper into the app’s content.
Get more insight in our full Happify review.
Overview
Happify combines positive psychology and CBT techniques into an approachable app designed to improve your mood and emotional well-being. With its free version, you’ll get access to several learning tracks, interactive games, reflective journals, and a community hub where you can connect with other users. These features make Happify an excellent starting point for beginners exploring mental wellness apps.
The app stands out for its playful, game-like approach to mental health. Through activities and quick exercises, Happify encourages positive thinking and mindfulness in an easy, engaging way. However, its simplicity might not suit those looking for in-depth mental health tools or structured CBT practice, as some features can feel more like entertainment than what you’d think of as therapy.
Read about our experience with the app in our full Happify review.
Price: Free – $19.99 monthly
Platform: iOS, Android, Web
Features: AI Chatbot, CBT skill work
Wysa is a mental health app powered by an AI chatbot that supports users with CBT-based techniques, meditations, and personalized coping strategies. I named Wysa as Best with AI for its excellent blend of innovative technology and practical mental wellness tools. Our reviewers thought Wysa’s chatbot was interactive and approachable, offering tailored recommendations for supporting mental health.
Pros & Cons
- Easy access to therapy and medication
- Accepts many insurance plans
- App doesn’t have many other features
Cost
Wysa’s free version includes access to the AI therapist chatbot, some meditations, and CBT tools. A premium version is available for $19.99 monthly, $74.99 annually, or $299.99 for a lifetime membership. While the free version includes a good selection of content, Wysa Premium offers a richer experience with its full meditation library, deeper personalization, and access to Emotional Wellbeing Professionals. You can try these premium features with a 7-day free trial to see if they meet your needs.
Visit our full Wysa review for more insight into what each plan offers.
Overview
Wysa is an AI-powered mental health app designed to provide support through a combination of chatbot conversations, meditations, interactive exercises, and CBT-based coping techniques. The app makes therapy-like tools more accessible by offering a digital AI therapist that’s available anytime to help users manage anxiety, stress, and other daily life challenges. For moments of acute distress, Wysa includes crisis line connections and a safety planning feature, highlighting its commitment to safety.
One of Wysa’s standout features is its personalized recommendations. The app learns from your interactions with the chatbot to suggest curated exercises and coping strategies. This makes it feel like a customized wellness companion compared to what most mental health apps offer.
While the free version includes access to the AI chatbot and basic tools, upgrading to Wysa Premium enhances the experience with a larger library of resources and personalized features. For those seeking even more support, the app also offers access to “Emotional Wellbeing Professionals” for an added cost. Overall, we think Wysa is an excellent choice for anyone looking for AI-integrated mental health care or an AI therapist chatbot.
Price: $12.99 monthly; $69.99 annually
Platform: iOS, Android, Web
Features: Mindfulness education & guided meditations
Headspace stands out as a leader among mindfulness and meditation apps, known for its approachable design and extensive library of high-quality content. Its format introduces beginners to meditation with ease while providing advanced content for more experienced users. Headway is our most trusted app for building a sustainable mindfulness routine.
Pros & Cons
- Extensive library of high-quality meditation content
- Includes advanced courses for more experienced users
- No free content available
- Most meditations are under 30 minutes
Cost
Headspace costs $12.99 monthly, with a 7-day free trial. If you prefer an annual plan, that’s priced at $69.99 per year, with a 14-day free trial. Families can take advantage of the family plan at $19.99 per month or $99.99 annually, which covers up to six members (just $3.33 per person). Students also get a steeply discounted rate of $9.99 for a full year. While there’s no free plan, the free trials provide ample opportunity to explore the app’s features before committing.
Learn more in our full review of Headspace.
Overview
Headspace is one of the most popular meditation and mindfulness apps available, offering a comprehensive library of high-quality content for users at all levels. Its easy-to-use interface introduces you to foundational breathwork and meditation techniques through structured courses. The app is designed to be approachable, especially for beginners, and gradually builds your practice with a range of guided sessions.
One of our favorite features is its well-rounded selection of meditations, including some focused on stress, sleep, anxiety, focus, and personal growth. It provides users with the tools they need to develop a consistent mindfulness practice, offering courses that span from just a few minutes to longer, more immersive sessions. Its slick design and clear guidance make it an excellent choice for anyone looking to incorporate mindfulness into their daily routine.
Get to know our experiencing by reading our full review of Headspace.
Price: Free – $60 annually
Platform: iOS, Android, Web
Features: Guided meditation, meditation timer, group seminars
Insight Timer is known for its extensive free library of guided meditations, courses, and live events. Ideal for both beginners and experienced meditators, it offers a wide range of content to help users manage stress, improve sleep, and deepen their mindfulness practice. I believe it’s the best app available for guided meditation of all kinds.
Pros & Cons
- 120,000+ free meditations
- Free live yoga classes
- Community space lets you connect to others
- Connect with a mentor or join workshops
- Massive library can be overwhelming
- Courses only available in premium version
- Workshops and mentoring cost extra
Cost
Insight Timer has many features available for free, including its main timer functionality and many guided meditations. Insight Timer’s premium subscription, called Member Plus, costs $60 annually and comes with a 30-day free trial if you sign up on the website. If you sign up through the app, you will only be offered a one-week free trial. Insight Timer’s premium membership unlocks access to 24,000+ additional meditation tracks, several thousand courses, additional timer features, and some additional features.
Overview
Insight Timer is a meditation app with an extensive free meditation library. This easy-to-navigate app is good for beginners or for advanced students of meditation. Insight Timer includes access to its main meditation timer as well as mood tracking, private mentoring, and premium workshops. The premium version, Member Plus, is $60 annually and comes with a free trial.
Insight Timer offers a community space where you can connect with other meditators and participate in chat groups on a variety of topics, including meditation for beginners, deep sleep, healing the inner child, and daily gratitude. Each group has dedicated meditation playlists as well as a chatbox to connect with others. You can request to become friends with other members of your group. Anyone you request to be friends with will show up in your home hub along with their social posts.
You can learn all about this meditation app by reading our in-depth Insight Timer review.
Price: Free
Platform: iOS, Android,
Features: Mindfulness skills for young kids
I chose Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame Street for its engaging, child-friendly approach to teaching emotional skills. Using familiar characters, the app helps toddlers (ages 2-5) learn problem-solving, self-control, and persistence, making it a great mental health app for young children.
Pros & Cons
- Completely free
- Simple, child-friendly interface
- Not suitable for children older than 5
- Limited content may feel repetitive over time
Cost
Breathe, Think, Do is completely free.
Overview
Breathe, Think, Do with Sesame uses the familiar and friendly muppets to help children ages two to five with their mental health. This free app helps little ones achieve goals like improving problem-solving, self-control, planning, and persistence. There are even new daily challenges to help maintain interest in learning and practicing skills.
A wonderful aspect of Breathe, Think, Do is that all the skills are taught with vibrant visuals and engaging sounds. This combination can be incredibly helpful for toddlers and young children struggling with tasks like putting on shoes, waiting for turns, or cleaning up toys.
Price: Free
Platform: iOS, Android,
Features: CBT Based skills for anxiety & depression symptoms
What’s Up? is a free mental health app that provides grounding techniques, mood tracking, and journaling. I selected it as the Best Free App for its practical, CBT-based tools, which provide valuable resources at no cost—making it one of the most accessible mental health apps available.
Pros & Cons
- Completely free with no ads
- Simple, easy-to-use design
- Quick and easy to add journal entries or track negative/positive habits
- Limited number of features
Cost
What’s Up? is free, but does feature three options to donate to the app developers.
Overview
What’s Up? is a free mental health app that provides a range of helpful tools to manage negative thoughts and emotions. With its simple, easy-to-use interface, the app offers grounding techniques, breathing exercises, and a journal feature that allows users to track their moods and rate their feelings.
Our reviewer enjoyed What’s Up’s customizable interface, which allows users to personalize the app’s appearance with different colors and themes. While it may lack some of the depth of paid options, this free mental health app offers plenty of features, including a handy catastrophe scale to visualize the intensity of your feelings.
Why Trust Us
300+
Companies Reviewed2,350+
Hours of Testing1,150+
Data Points AnalyzedThe reviews on ChoosingTherapy.com are fair, honest, thorough, and based on firsthand experience. To date, we’ve reviewed mental health solutions offered by more than 300 companies. That has involved more than 2,350 hours of firsthand use and consideration of over 1,150 data points. Our editorial policies outline a rigorous review process, but they all boil down to this: produce reviews that our own friends and family can rely on. Learn more here.
Compare Our Picks
Calm | Finch | Bearable | Youper | Happify | Wysa | Headspace | Insight Timer | Breathe, Think, Do | What’s Up? | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free Version? | ||||||||||
Premium Price | $14.99 monthly | $9.99 monthly | $34.99 annually | $69.99 annually | $14.99 monthly | $19.99 monthly | $12.99 monthly | $60 annually | Free | Free |
Platform | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android | iOS, Android |
Calm | Finch | Bearable | Youper | Happify | Wysa | Headspace | Insight Timer | Breathe, Think, Do | What’s Up? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free Version? | |||||||||
Premium Price | |||||||||
$14.99 monthly | $9.99 monthly | $34.99 annually | $69.99 annually | $14.99 monthly | $19.99 monthly | $12.99 monthly | $60 annually | Free | Free |
Platform | |||||||||
iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS, Android | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android, Web | iOS, Android | iOS, Android |
Other Apps To Consider
Here are a few more of the top mental health apps that didn’t quite make our main list. Still, some folks might find the perfect fit.
Price: $9.99 monthly
Key Features: Mindfulness courses, Meditation timer
Learn MoreShow less
The Mindfulness app features mindfulness courses for beginners, intermediate, and experienced meditators. Along with a good selection of free content, The Mindfulness App has a premium version that unlocks over 30 courses and costs $9.99 monthly or $144.99 annually. The annual subscription is frequently discounted further, and comes with a seven-day free trial.
Price: $7.99 - $11.99 monthly
Key Features: Breathwork exercises, Challenges
Learn MoreShow less
Breathwrk provides several tools to help users build a breathing practice. It’s easy to use and designed for anyone who wants to use breathwork to work towards a specific goal, such as enhancing sleep, increasing energy, or reducing stress. Breathwrk has a limited free version and costs $7.99 monthly or $76.99 annually on Apple, and $11.99 monthly or $59.99 annually on Android.
Learn more in our full Breathwrk review.
Price: $19.99 monthly; $129.99 annually
Key Features: Educational courses on mindfulness
Learn MoreShow less
Waking Up is a mindfulness app based on neuroscience and psychology. The goal of Waking Up is to help you learn the nature of your mind. It combines meditations, mindfulness exercises, and TED Talk-like courses. Waking Up costs $129.99 annually on Apple and $99.99 annually on Android or through the website.
Price: $4.99 - $9.99 monthly
Key Features: CBT skill work, CBT Guide Journal
Learn MoreShow less
CBT Thought Diary can help you identify your emotions and analyze how and why you’re feeling a certain way. It’s a solid app for both guided and freeform journaling. CBT Thought Diary costs $4.99 monthly or $59.99 annually on Android and $9.99 monthly or $69.99 annually on Apple devices.
For more, visit our complete CBT Thought Diary review.
Price: $29.99 monthly
Key Features: Learning Modules, Journal, Community Space
Learn MoreShow less
Unwinding Anxiety is an app dedicated to helping people overcome their stress, anxiety, and other strong feelings. In the app, you will have access to daily learning lessons, tools like stress tests and mindfulness exercises, as well as the ability to join weekly calls with the app’s founder Dr. Jud Brewer. Unwinding Anxiety costs $29.99 monthly, $139.99 biannually, $209.99 annually, or $499.99 for lifetime access.
Price: $7.99 monthly
Key Features: Sleep meditations, sleep stories, and soundscapes
Learn MoreShow less
Slumber is an app dedicated to sleep meditations, stories, and soundscapes. It’s a great choice for both adults and kids. The app features calming stories, sleep meditations, soothing sounds, and children’s stories. All of the stories and meditations are designed to help you fall asleep quickly and stay asleep through the night.
Price: Free - $4.99 monthly
Key Features: CBT Skill work, Journal Prompts, Safety Plan
Learn MoreShow less
MoodTools is a simple mental health app for those struggling with depression. MoodTools costs $1.99 monthly or $29.99 annually. Journaling prompts, videos, activities, and a built-in safety planning features offer a nice suite of mental health tools in a simple package.
Final Verdict
ChoosingTherapy.com strives to provide our readers with mental health content that is accurate and actionable. We have high standards for what can be cited within our articles. Acceptable sources include government agencies, universities and colleges, scholarly journals, industry and professional associations, and other high-integrity sources of mental health journalism. Learn more by reviewing our full editorial policy.
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Bell, Caitlin. (April, 2024). “Calm App Review 2024: Pros & Cons, Cost, & Who It’s Right For” https://www.choosingtherapy.com/calm-app-review/.
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Bell, Caitlin. (June, 2024). “Bearable App Review 2024: Pros & Cons, Cost, & Who It’s Right For” https://www.choosingtherapy.com/bearable-app-review/.
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Sprintis, Randi. (April, 2024). “Youper App Review 2024: Pros & Cons, Cost, & Who It’s Right For” https://www.choosingtherapy.com/youper-app-review/.
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Bell, Caitlin. (April, 2024). “Happify App Review 2024: Pros & Cons, Cost, & Who It’s Right For” https://www.choosingtherapy.com/happify-app-review/.
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Bell, Caitlin. (April, 2024). “Headspace App Review 2024: Pros & Cons, Cost & Who It’s Right For” https://www.choosingtherapy.com/headspace-review/.
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Bell, Caitlin. (April, 2024). “Insight Timer App Review 2024: Pros & Cons, Cost, & Who It’s Right For” https://www.choosingtherapy.com/insight-timer-review/.
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Bell, Caitlin. (May, 2024). “CBT Thought Diary – Clarity App Review 2024: Pros & Cons, Cost, & Who It’s Right For” https://www.choosingtherapy.com/cbt-thought-diary-review/.
We regularly update the articles on ChoosingTherapy.com to ensure we continue to reflect scientific consensus on the topics we cover, to incorporate new research into our articles, and to better answer our audience’s questions. When our content undergoes a significant revision, we summarize the changes that were made and the date on which they occurred. We also record the authors and medical reviewers who contributed to previous versions of the article. Read more about our editorial policies here.
Author: Melissa Boudin, PsyD. (New author)
Medical Reviewer: Kristen Fuller, MD (New medical reviewer)
Primary Changes: Complete rewrite of article. Fact-checked all information and reconsidered/made changes to the recommendations list based on research and product testing. Updated where necessary to improve factual accuracy and readability. Companies removed from list: Talkspace, BetterHelp, Slumber, I Am Sober, Recovery Record Eating Disorder Management. Companies added to list: Calm, Bearable, Headspace, Wysa.
Author: Caitlin Bell, MA (No change)
Medical Reviewer: Benjamin Troy, MD (No change)
Primary Changes: Complete revamp of overall style; updated logos for all companies.
Author: Caitlin Bell, MA (New author)
Medical Reviewer: Benjamin Troy, MD (New medical reviewer)
Primary Changes: Updated for Readability, Added new Best Categories, Updated all Apps with current costs, added new images
Author: Eric Patterson, LPC (New author)
Medical Reviewer: Lynn Byars, MD, MPH, FACP (New medical reviewer)
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