Leaving school to attend college or University, whether leaving home or not, has always been a challenge. But it is also a time of great opportunity, when earlier disadvantages and inequalities might be overcome, and life chances improve. It can be a moment of true levelling up.
To have timely support for mental health challenges at that time of life can have lifelong impacts, and if available, it not only improves wellbeing, but increases future opportunities.
1 in 4 students have a diagnosed mental health issue, according to Student Minds (February 2023). Concerningly, young people’s mental health seems to be perhaps amplified by the challenges of transition to university. 30% shared that they have experienced their mental health worsening since starting university. Alongside this, 1 in 4 shared that they wouldn’t know where to get mental health support at university if they needed it (February 2023).
Digital solutions to mental health challenges
In 2015 stem4 launched its first mental health app, Calm Harm (which has since been downloaded over 3 million times), to provide an evidence-based tool that could provide immediate help from a trusted clinical source. To support those who struggle with self-harm, it was also a response to the lack of mental health support young people were receiving from traditional mental health services.
Dr Nihara Krause MBE, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, developed the Calm Harm app, in collaboration with young people, using strategies from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) to help users learn to identify and manage their ‘emotional mind’, plus teaching impulse control, emotional regulation and how to track the underlying triggers to harmful urges.
While this app alone is not a substitute for the assessment and individualised treatment by a health/mental health professional, it has been proven to be effective in helping young people resist the urge to self-harm. Since 2015, stem4 has expanded its digital portfolio to include 4 additional evidence-based mental health apps.
- Clear Fear, which uses the evidence-based treatment Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) to help reduce the symptoms of anxiety.
- Move Mood, which uses Behavioural Activation Therapy (BAT) to help improve low mood and reduce the symptoms of depression.
- Combined Minds, which uses a Strengths-Based approach that has been shown to be particularly effective in supporting recovery, providing practical strategies for families and friends to improve young people’s mental health.
- Worth Warrior, which uses the principles of Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for Eating Disorders (CBT-E) to overcome negative body image, low self-worth, and related early-stage eating difficulties or disorders.
Blog posts for university students: https://stem4.org.uk/category/blog/school-university/
stem4’s apps can be accessed for free in the UK (and at a low cost outside of the UK) and have a 85-93% efficacy in symptom reduction at each use. In addition, one of the apps is awaiting publication in a prestigious international journal, and another is being evaluated in an NHS approved study, in terms of its efficacy and early results are encouraging .
Mental health apps are highly accessible, avoid the challenges that students struggle with in terms of stigma, or talking to a professional, and are effective in both preventing and helping to reduce the symptoms of mental health challenges. We are pleased to see an increasing number of universities signposting their student’s to safe digital tools, including the stem4 apps, knowing that these are based on best evidence.
stem4 works closely with a number of universities to promote positive mental health in students. Our evidence-based apps are a particularly effective way of ensuring that 100% of students have access to psychological support that really works, whenever they need it and wherever they are.
Get in touch to find out how we can support your university
licences@stem4.org.uk
We want to continue to support the mental health of young people at university
Dr Nihara Krause MBE – “there is further, urgent need for innovative and effective practice to assess and mitigate risk, provide early and effective intervention including safe digital tools and create further links with NHS mental health hubs for students. Special focus also needs to be placed on student ethnicity, sexuality, and disability.”
Want to support us?
Make a difference in the lives of students who are struggling with their mental health this #UniMentalHealthDay
We want to ensure that every young person in the UK, whatever their background or circumstances, has access to high quality, evidence-based mental health support.
More than just raising awareness, we want to place into the hands of every young person in the UK the tools they need to get well and stay well.
How can you directly help a young person?
- £10 places one of our apps in the hands of 10 young people
- £30 prevents 10 instances of self-harm
- £50 manages an incident of anxiety for 30 young people
- £100 hosts all 5 of our apps for a week- this means helping 10,000 young people
Your support on #UniMentalHealthDay will help stem4 to continue to provide evidence-based psychological support that really works. Click here to donate.
