Dorset Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services is working with SilverCloud Health to deliver a new digital mental health therapy programme to support young people with depression.
The new programme, based on cognitive behavioural therapy, is supporting teenagers starting their GCSE and A level studies in the region by using interactive online tools they can use in their own time.
A recent research study into the programme highlighted 200 young people benefitted from the online tools, with 90% of people in the study finding the digital therapy relevant.
Chloe Ponsford, Operational Service Manager, CAMHS Gateway Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole, said: “SilverCloud enables us to provide young people with an online programme they can access at their own pace, at a time which suits them. In these current times, it gives young people the flexibility they need, enabling them to improve their mental health at home, in an engaging and informative way.”
The module is also being introduced to teenagers aged 14 and upwards by CAMHS services across the UK and will soon be widely-available to health trusts and schools. It includes interactive activities and online tools to encourage young people to identify ways that they can motivate themselves to engage in activities.
Dr Lloyd Humphreys, Head of Europe at SilverCloud Health, said: ““There is currently huge uncertainty and worry at the moment globally, and it is having a significant impact on the mental health of every age group, background, and culture.”
“Working with colleagues at Dorset CAMHS, we are very pleased to be pioneering new thinking and approaches to tackling this issue. In the week of World Mental Health Day with this year’s theme of ‘Mental Health for All’ it is appropriate to focus on the particular mental health needs of this particularly vulnerable group.”
