Groundwork: CBT Journal
Somewhere to put it down
Only for iPhone
Free · In‑App Purchases · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.
iPhone
A journal with real CBT structure behind it — not a chatbot wearing one. Your entries never leave this iPhone.
Finch's reviews say "Unethical High-Pressure Sale Tactics" and "You have to pay for this app to be usable." Rosebud runs a ladder to $59.99 a month that reads to its own users as compute-metering.
Groundwork is $5.99 a month, $49.99 a year, nothing is metered, and what you write never leaves this iPhone.
SOMEWHERE TO PUT IT DOWN
Write freely, or work through a thought record, a values check-in, a behavioural experiment or a small step you can actually take today. Real CBT structure, the kind that has been tested — not a chatbot with a soft voice.
IF THINGS GET BAD, IT STOPS
Groundwork watches for signs of crisis in what you write and in what it was about to say back. If either fires, it abandons whatever it was doing and shows you people who can help. That check runs on this iPhone in four passes, which means it works with no signal and it cannot be talked out of firing.
IT IS NOT THERAPY AND IT NEVER SAYS IT IS
It does not diagnose, it does not treat, and it will tell you when something is a conversation to have with a person. Every app in this category blurs that line to raise its perceived value. This one draws it in the onboarding.
YOUR ENTRIES NEVER LEAVE THE DEVICE
Not for processing, not for backup, not for training. There is no account, and there is nothing to breach.
WHAT IT COSTS
$5.99/month, or $49.99/year — $4.17/month, under half of Rosebud's entry tier.
Nothing is metered and you will never see a balance. A ceiling exists on the server because any open endpoint needs one; it sits at roughly sixty calls a day, and no real user of a journal reaches it. We would rather promise you a number that is large than an absence of limits that is not quite true.
The first seven days are free. What it costs after that, and the day the first charge lands, are both on the paywall before you start; cancelling in Settings during the trial stops it.
WHAT WE DON'T DO
• No "one-time limited offer" popup. No high-pressure upgrade prompts. Ever.
• No credits, no coin packs, no consumables.
• You are never charged for a request that fails.
• No weekly subscription. No ads. No data collection.
If you are in crisis right now: in the US, call or text 988. Groundwork will show you the right number for where you are.
One of 31 Lumen apps.
Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Ratings & Reviews
- This app hasn’t received enough ratings or reviews to display an overview.
The developer, Rohan Arun, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Linked to You
The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
- Purchases
- Identifiers
- Usage Data
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
Information
- Seller
- Rohan Arun
- Size
- 10 MB
- Category
- Health & Fitness
- Compatibility
Requires iOS 26.0 or later.
- iPhone
Requires iOS 26.0 or later. - Mac
Requires macOS 26.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later. - Apple Vision
Requires visionOS 26.0 or later.
- iPhone
- Languages
- English
- Age Rating
13+
- 13+
- Infrequent
Medical Treatment information
Contains
Health or Wellness Topics
- In-App Purchases
Yes
- Groundwork Annual $49.99
- Groundwork Monthly $5.99
- Copyright
- © 2026 Rohan Arun