I sometimes work with individuals who can’t put words to their feelings or can’t understand the emotional responses of others. It’s not that they don’t want to—it’s more that they don’t know how.

The clinical term for this experience is alexithymia, which is defined as the inability to recognize emotions and their subtleties. The word “alexithymia” is of Greek origin, meaning “no words for emotions.” It’s important to note that alexithymia is not a clinical disorder or a mental illness. It’s a set of experiences that impair emotional awareness.

Skill-Based Apps

While there are plenty of studies that tout old-school interventions like reading novels, keeping a diary, and engaging in art therapy or other expressive arts to reduce alexithymia, this post will explore newer interventions—specifically, research on how skill-based apps can improve emotion recognition skills in alexithymic individuals.

Smartphones, computers, tablets, and even smart TVs can access apps like Alexilearn, Animi, and Daniel Tiger’s Grr-ific Feelings, and a digital journal, Clearful, to deepen Emotional intelligence. These software programs are game-like in design and make skill-building a fun, interactive, and empowering experience.

Of these digital offerings, these three are geared toward children, adolescents, and adults:

• Alexilearn, rated E for everyone, is free—and currently ad-free—from Google Play. This app incorporates real-time facial expressions that detect emotions and has additional lessons, reflections, and practices to broaden skills for children and adults.
• Animi is an evidence-based app that’s available from both Apple’s App Store and Google Play. This app builds skills in emotional awareness and Emotional intelligence as well as body awareness of feelings. I particularly like the body sensation feature that helps others become more attuned to areas of their body where they feel detached or overly agitated. Based on how you gauge the slider in the app game, words will appear to describe the body excitation level for greater expressive language development.
• Clearful is a free app that is geared toward older children, teens, and adults for the purpose of digital journaling. Expressive writing has significant outcome research with reducing alexithymia, but what I love about this software is that you can use guided questions to help you express yourself, and it offers other inviting ways to detail feelings with music, photos, quotes, fonts, and hundreds of other elements.

For children, here is one standout app for social-emotional learning:

• Daniel Tiger’s Grr-ific Feelings is an app for children age 3 and older that can help minimize alexithymia. Based on the PBS television show Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, inspired by Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, this app is available from Google Play, Apple’s App Store, and Amazon. It offers four featured activities that teach social-emotional learning. Specifically, little ones will learn how to identify feelings, manage emotions, use expressive arts, and engage in body awareness.

When More Than Technology Is Needed

Using these kinds of skill-building apps may help improve emotional awareness in others as well as yourself. As mentioned, they are entertaining and use a game-like structure to reach and teach. If, however, you feel that such interventions aren’t enough to reduce alexithymia or that you or someone you love is struggling to cope day to day with social experiences, reaching out to a Mental health therapist can provide greater intervention.

Summary

Alexithymia is a trait that makes it hard to find words for feelings and detect emotions in others. When identified, alexithymia can be addressed with the goal of making feelings and their textures easier to navigate.

To find a therapist, please visit the Psychology Today Therapy Directory.

Note: Deborah Serani, Psy.D., declares no support, financial or otherwise, for highlighting these digital applications and software.