Mental Health App for Young People Emphasizes Peer Support

Dr. Suzi Godson, a psychologist and co-founder of Tellmi, a mental health application providing monitored digital peer support for individuals aged 11 to 18, stated that comforting words from peers can be “much more meaningful” than those offered by family members. This application, recently introduced in Oxfordshire, offers a platform for young people to anonymously discuss their emotions. Dr. Godson mentioned that she and her partner possessed “an intuitive understanding that it would bring relief to a lot of young people.” Drawing on her experience as an advice columnist for the Times, she recounted receiving “millions of letters and emails from young people who felt like they were the only person in the world because they were dealing with a specific issue.” She explained, “I realised that if I could build a technology that allowed them to talk to each other safely, they would immediately feel better because they’d know that lots and lots of other people felt that same issue and they were fine.” “That’s why I built Tellmi and I was lucky enough to team up with my partner who is an engineer,” she stated. The application was launched in 2017, though establishing its user community required time. Dr. Godson noted that the pandemic, specifically the closure of schools in March 2020, resulted in a surge in young people utilizing the app. “By the time we came out of the pandemic, we had 40,000 users,” she reported. “So it was incredibly rapid growth. We now have 100,000,” she added. She confirmed that their moderators and counsellors are accessible from 8:30 GMT until 23:00, operating “all day, every day, 365 days a year.” Tellmi’s operational framework ensures that every post and reply undergoes human review. Posts identified as high-risk are promptly directed to a qualified counsellor, who then responds without requiring the young person to explicitly request assistance. Dr. Godson considers the prevalent one-to-one support model for young people to be unhelpful. She elaborated, “It presents the idea that somebody else can fix you.” She asserted that, “In actual fact, what we need to be giving young people are the tools they need to help themselves because there aren’t enough councillors in the world to help the number of young people that have mental health issues.” An anonymous 15-year-old user from Oxford provided a testimony, stating: “I get therapy but Tellmi helps way more, it’s like a support group but a lot easier as it’s anonymous, I don’t have to worry about going somewhere or seeing other people.” Dr. Godson explained, “We looked at all the reasons why social media is so popular and then we took those ingredients but we made them safe.” She observed that when young people initially engage with the app, “they don’t know what their issue is” but are aware of feeling “low and anxious.” Consequently, “And so they talk to their peers and unpack it privately and anonymously.” As they acquire more understanding, they start to feel more confident and develop greater clarity regarding the causes of their emotions. This process enables them to build the confidence needed to decide on their subsequent actions. Dr. Godson stated their aim was to “work with everybody” to “break down barriers to support.” “I think about 51% of people who use TellMi have no other support at all,” she remarked. She noted that the app serves a significant number of users with autism and ADHD, as well as individuals from the LGBTQ+ and black communities. The team expressed being “really delighted to be working in Oxfordshire” currently. “We have so many plans and we are really interested in co-creation with young people,” Dr. Godson stated, further mentioning their desire to collaborate with schools. She concluded, “We are all about collaboration, creativity and finding ways to excite young people about self-help and positive psychology.” You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.