A pilot project to use online technology to support young people with mental health needs has been launched by NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in east Kent
Some 20 young children in the area will trial Healios – an internet platform that provides therapy for 7-17 year olds with anxiety, low mood, phobias, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and other mental health conditions.
It is hoped that Healios will be successful in helping young people and their families to self-manage their mental health at a time and place that suits them and outside of traditional clinical environments.
A spokesperson for the CCGs said: “We know that young people like to spend a lot of time on the internet and are keen to find out how using an online platform might be an effective way of engaging them in therapy and supporting their mental health and wellbeing.”
Richard Andrews, Founder and Chairman of Healios said, “We are really excited to bring our mental health services to children and young people after spending years successfully delivering online psychological interventions to adults. Over the years, we’ve seen time and time again where having family intervention at an earlier stage in one’s life could have made all the difference. In working with east Kent CCGs, we now have the opportunity to change the lives of children and young people and give them the support and confidence they need to transform their journey through life.”
The service will be offered through Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust’s child and adolescent mental health services teams across Thanet, Ashford, Canterbury and coastal areas of East Kent.
NHS Ashford Clinical Commissioning Group 12 October 2016
www.ashfordccg.nhs.uk/news/blog/?blogpost=9113#.WAYmfOArLDc
Founded in 2013, Healios is a leading digital healthcare technology company working to empower patients and families affected by mental and physical illnesses.
Healios is pioneering how family intervention and behavioural change techniques are delivered beyond treatment team walls, to maximise patient and family outcomes. By blending the best of technology, specialised expertise and a personal human connection, it helps patients and families develop a new level of understanding and sustain healthier habits over time.