# The Observing Ego — Doctor-built mood tracker > Doctor-built mood and mental health tracker using clinical screening instruments for self-reflection. (iPhone/iPad app by Casey Simon.) - Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-observing-ego/id6761090744 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`) - Developer: [Casey Simon](https://appshunter.io/developer/1856536401) - Category: Health & Fitness, Medical - Price: Free with in-app purchases - Rating: 5.00/5 from 1 App Store ratings - Age rating: 12+ - Requires: iOS 17.0 · 19 MB - Languages: American English, European Spanish - Released: 2026-05-09 - Data updated: 2026-09-07 - Monetization: freemium - User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/the-observing-ego/id6761090744/reviews.md ## What is The Observing Ego? A mood tracker built by a doctoral-level clinician, with input from fellow clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists, using the actual clinical screening instruments your therapist uses: PHQ-9, GAD-7, WHO-5, DERS-16, SCS-SF, C-SSRS, ASQ, and STIPO-R. No AI therapy advice. No gamification. No social feed. No ads. Your data stays on your phone. Safety features are always free. Forever. No paywall on crisis resources, the safety plan, or the 988 Lifeline. — TRAUMA-INFORMED BY DESIGN — Built around the psychoanalytic concept of the "observing ego": the part of you that can step back and notice your own mental processes. The app is a mirror, not a therapist. It helps you see yourself clearly and bring that clarity to your own work, or to a clinician. — WHAT YOU CAN DO — Track moods with the precision your therapist would recognize. An age-adaptive picker (ages 7 through adult) draws from a 100+ emotion vocabulary mapped to validated affect models. Take the clinical screenings your therapist uses, scored to published thresholds. PHQ-9 for depression. GAD-7 for anxiety. WHO-5 for wellbeing. ASQ and C-SSRS for safety. STIPO-R for personality organization (uncommon outside research settings). See patterns over time. Mood correlations with sleep, exercise, medications, and habits. Year in Pixels view. Longitudinal assessment trends. Every correlation needs at least 7 data points and a moderate effect size before it surfaces. Quality over noise. Log defense mechanisms (Vaillant's three-tier hierarchy). Record dreams with psychodynamic framing. Practice mentalizing exercises drawn from MBT. Map body sensations to feelings. — PRIVACY BY DESIGN — No accounts. No servers. No ads. No analytics. No third parties. Your data syncs through your own iCloud, encrypted end-to-end. We cannot see your entries, your moods, or your reports. We do not want to. — SAFETY ALWAYS FREE — The safety plan, crisis resources, 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and gentle check-ins when the app detects elevated risk are free forever. Premium pricing applies only to deeper insights. Safety never goes behind a paywall. — BUILT BY — Casey Simon, Psy.D. (Doctor of Clinical Psychology), MFT (Marriage and Family Therapist), with input from fellow clinical psychologists and neuropsychologists. Designed for honest self-reflection, not performance. A tool meant to be shared with a clinician when you choose to. — PRICING — Free to download. 7-day free trial of Premium. Then $4.99 per month or $44.99 per year. Safety features stay free regardless of subscription. Cancel anytime in App Store settings. Terms of Use: https://myobservingego.com/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://myobservingego.com/privacy-policy/ ## Key features - Clinical mood tracking - Validated screening instruments - Pattern identification - Defense mechanism logging - Dream journaling - Mentalizing exercises - Free safety features ## Pricing and in-app purchases Base price: Free. **Subscriptions** | Subscription | Price | Period | | --- | --- | --- | | Premium Yearly | $44.99 | per year | | Premium Monthly | $4.99 | per month | ## Frequently asked questions about The Observing Ego ### What is The Observing Ego? The Observing Ego is a mood and mental health tracker designed by a clinical psychologist. It utilizes validated clinical screening instruments to help users understand their moods, identify patterns, and engage in self-reflection. The app focuses on providing insights rather than AI therapy or gamification. ### What clinical instruments does The Observing Ego use? The Observing Ego incorporates instruments like PHQ-9 for depression, GAD-7 for anxiety, WHO-5 for wellbeing, DERS-16, SCS-SF, C-SSRS for safety, ASQ, and STIPO-R for personality organization. These are the same tools often used by therapists. ### Is The Observing Ego free to use? The Observing Ego is free to download and includes essential safety features like a safety plan and crisis resources permanently free. A 7-day free trial of Premium is available, after which a subscription is required for deeper insights. ### What are the subscription options for The Observing Ego? The Observing Ego offers a Premium subscription at $4.99 per month or $44.99 per year. A 7-day free trial is provided for both plans. Users can cancel their subscription at any time through their App Store settings. ### Does The Observing Ego have ads? No, The Observing Ego is ad-free. The description explicitly states 'No ads' and emphasizes privacy by design, ensuring no advertisements interfere with the user experience. ### How does The Observing Ego protect user privacy? Privacy is a core design principle for The Observing Ego. It does not require accounts, use servers, or collect analytics. Data is synced via iCloud and encrypted end-to-end, with the developers unable to access user entries. ### What age rating does The Observing Ego have? The Observing Ego has an age rating of 12+. The app features an age-adaptive picker for moods, suitable for users from age 7 through adult. ### How often is The Observing Ego updated? The Observing Ego was last updated on July 9, 2026, with version 1.1.14. This indicates a relatively frequent update schedule, suggesting ongoing development and support for the application. ## Version history (last 5 releases) ### 1.1.15 — 2026-09-02 This update keeps The Observing Ego current with Apple's latest App Store requirements. Nothing changes in your data, your entries, or how the app works. As always: no AI advice, no ads, no server. Your data stays on your device and in your own iCloud. Crisis resources and the safety plan remain free for everyone. ### 1.1.14 — 2026-07-09 Two improvements in this update, both from user feedback. Delete entries where you'd expect. Mood entries and journal entries now have a clear "Delete Mood Entry" or "Delete Entry" button right on their own screen, with a confirmation first. Deleting a mood entry never removes a linked journal entry, and vice versa. Snoozed medication reminders now arrive. If you tapped "Remind in 30 min" (or 1 or 2 hours), the follow-up reminder could quietly get cancelled. That's fixed. A snoozed reminder now fires when you asked it to. Thanks to the testers and users who wrote in. ### 1.1.13 — 2026-06-27 We made several improvements based on your feedback: • Snooze medication reminders. Not the right moment? Tap a reminder to be reminded again in 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 2 hours. • Reactivate medications you've paused. Inactive medications now have their own section and can be turned back on in a single tap. • Safer profile management. You can now delete an individual profile on its own, so removing one profile in a household no longer affects the others. • Clearer wording on the delete screen, plus better display of long medication names. Your data stays private and on your device. Thank you for helping shape The Observing Ego. ### 1.1.12 — 2026-06-10 Thanks for the feedback that shaped this update. • Log "as needed" medications: a new Log dose button records an as-needed medication on any day you take it, with a one-tap undo if you log it by mistake. • Siri shortcuts: asking Siri to log your mood or open your safety plan now goes straight to the right screen. • More accurate medication insights, plus reliability fixes throughout. Your data stays on your device, always. ### 1.1.11 — 2026-06-08 This update connects more of your health data to your mood and smooths out a few rough edges. • More health insights: see how your sleep, heart rate, activity, and other metrics relate to your mood, in both your dashboard and the report you share with your provider. • Cycle and mood: menstrual cycle patterns now reliably appear alongside your mood for those who track them. • Clearer clinician report: your shareable PDF now includes a referral section to bring to an appointment. • Reliability fixes: resolved a Face ID issue that could ask you to unlock repeatedly, plus other stability improvements. ## More apps by Casey Simon - [TimeTaps](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/timetaps/id6755816189) - [Healthcove: Export & Sync](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/healthcove-export-and-sync/id6784952024) All apps by Casey Simon: https://appshunter.io/developer/1856536401 --- *Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-07.*